Nationwide Building Society's latest savings research shows that although only a quarter of consumers believe they are currently saving enough, just over half (52%) think that they will be saving the right amount in six months time. This is a 5% increase compared to last month's report (47%)

This increase in consumer intention follows the increase of 17% in the Expectations index (which reflects consumers' views of the economy and labour market in six months time) within the Nationwide Consumer Confidence Index in October. It shows uplift in those thinking that the economic situation will have improved in six months time.

Matthew Carter, director of savings at Nationwide, says: "The fact that half of consumers are still failing to save or are only saving occasionally is a concern, especially with the expensive festive season approaching. However, our latest research shows a slight increase in the number of people who are feeling positive that they will be able to save the correct amount in the future, which is small step in the right direction. I hope more consumers put firm savings plans into action soon.

"The current financial climate will have raised awareness about the importance of having savings, and we hope this, combined with joint industry and Government education programmes, will encourage people to save regularly going forward. Nationwide is committed to helping consumers of all ages make the most of their money, and has recently launched Nationwide Education, a financial capability programme, to primary schools across the UK to help teach children the importance of good money management.

"We have also recently announced a new partnership with Citizen's Advice Bureau (CAB). The three year programme will provide independent financial advisors in all bureaux to help consumers make the most of their money and answer any questions they may have."

If you want to start saving now, have a look at our Savings 'Best Buys' or our 'Savings Search' facility.

Lots of you have been asking whether your savings are safe with the Nationwide. There's also been a lot of scaremongering and sensationalism this week following the Halifax Bank of Scotland merger with Lloyds TSB and high profile collapses of Lehman Brothers and the rescue of AIG by the US Federal Reserve.

The Nationwide is the UK's largest building society. If the proposed takeovers of the Cheshire BS and Derbyshire BS by the Nationwide are approved by the financial regulators, the Nationwide will have almost 15 million members, 1,000 retail outlets, £191 billion assets and £122 billion of retail deposits.

Advice to savers this week has been not to keep more than £50,000 with one particular savings institution. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme covers 100% of the first £50,000, per person, per deposit taking institution. So if you want to be cautious don't have more than £50,000 with any one savings provider, if in the unlikely event the worst should happen, you will get all your money back.

If you're being ultra cautious you do also need to consider which savings account providers are registered under one banking licence, otherwise your savings will only be covered once. For example Bank of Scotland, Halifax, Birmingham Midshires, Intelligent Finance, AA and SAGA are all covered under the Bank of Scotland banking licence. This means that if you had £50,000 in savings with each of them, you would only receive £50,000 back from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, not £300,000 you held in savings accounts.

Will more banks and building societies go bust?

Before the demise of Northern Rock, Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers and AIG, it was almost unthinkable that a bank could go bust. But, the nationalisation of Northern Rock by the UK Government was a real statement of intent that it would do what ever is necessary to safeguard the banking system. By allowing Halifax Bank of Scotland to merge with Lloyds TSB the UK Government has further demonstrated this intent, as normally the competition authorities would have been allowed to block this move.

Don't be pressurised into switching savings accounts just for the sake of it, or because you’ve heard a rumour about a bank or building society is about to go bust.

Think about your overall savings needs and attitude to risk - read our savings guide for more information. If you're still concerned about whether your bank or building society is going to go bust, then check their credit rating, which is the traditional way to assess the financial strength of a company. The best ones to use are Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings.

Negative equity could threaten 2.5m homeowners according to the Chief Executive of the Nationwide Building Society. He's predicting that house prices will fall by as much as 25% from their peak, meaning that negative equity could affect 2.5m homeowners. Negative equity is now threatening to engulf a whole new generation of homeowners. During the housing market crash in the 1990's negative equity was estimated to affect 1.8m homeowners, with homeowners in London and the South East the worst affected.

Negative equity currently only affects a fraction of Britain's homeowners; however people with buy-to-let and sub-prime mortgages are the most at risk from negative equity. If you have negative equity and a fixed-rate mortgage deal you'll find it very difficult to switch to a different mortgage lender when your fixed rate mortgage deal ends. No mortgage lenders are currently offering mortgages for more than 100% of the property's value. There is also a shortage of mortgages for people wanting to borrow 90% or more of the value of their property.

During the 1990's house price crash, mortgage lenders like the Halifax, offered negative equity mortgages that allowed you to move and take the extra debt with you. The Council of Mortgage Lenders says there are no plans to introduce similar negative equity schemes at present.

If you find yourself in a negative equity situation, when your fixed-rate mortgage deal ends your mortgage will revert to the mortgage lender's standard variable rate. This means that your monthly mortgage payments will go up, by as much as between £240 to £500 per month for a £200,000 mortgage, depending on your mortgage deal.

If you are at risk from negative equity, you'd be wise to start to prepare yourself for higher monthly mortgage payments. Find how much extra your mortgage will cost you each month and then work out how you can find the extra money to meet the mortgage payments. There are various options you can consider:

• You can reduce your mortgage debt to remove the negative equity element. Most mortgages allow you to repay up to 10% of the mortgage without a penalty. Doing this will improve your chances of securing a more competitive mortgage deal when your current mortgage deal end.
• You may be able to clear the neagtive equity by obtaining an unsecured loan. This will be more expensive than a secured loan, but it won't be secured on your home. An unsecured loan will need to repaid over a shorter period than a mortgage or secured loan, meaning your monthly payments will be higher for this part of your debt.
• Prepare yourself now for higher mortgage payments by saving as much as you can afford into a separate savings account, like a Cash Isa.
• Review all of your outgoings and start to budget and cut back on all unnecessary costs. Take a look at our article on How to save money by getting out of debt.
• Look at ways of increasing your income, perhaps by taking a second job or taking in a lodger

Negative equity can be very daunting, but it's worth remembering that the national average house price remains slightly higher than a year ago and that short-term set backs are unlikely to reverse the long-term upward trend in house prices because demand for housing in Britain exceeds supply.