Lloyds Bank boss: automate savings and talk about money with partner

Charlie Nunn runs the UK's biggest bank, providing one in four current accounts, which gives him a deep insight into customers' spending, saving and borrowing. But the Lloyds Banking Group CEO admits he "hates budgeting and always has". His solution? Automate your savings so the decision is taken out of your hands. "If you're able to carve out a little bit and put it somewhere else where you won't have access to it and be able to spend it, I think that's the easiest way to start having a saving mindset," he says. That could mean a standing order, cash envelopes or round-up tools. He recommends "saving little, saving early and saving regularly", and advises looking at your current account as soon as you get paid and moving money into savings immediately. "Do it as soon as you can," he adds. Alongside savings, Nunn urges building an emergency fund for surprise bills – one to three months' salary if possible. His own attitude to money was shaped by childhood: his parents divorced and his mother raised four children, making him think carefully about spending. "We were constantly worrying about what we were spending money on," he recalls, from cheap supermarket food to holidays. That prudence stays with him: in relationships, his red flag is "someone who isn't careful with money". He and his wife have a joint account and "complete transparency" over finances. As a father, he tries to teach his children the value of money, though they "take no advice from me because I'm their dad". They get pocket money to budget, and while two are spenders and two are savers, Nunn does not think younger people are generally financially irresponsible.