The credit crunch has made many people "stop and think" about their finances, it has been claimed.
According to the Tax Incentivised Savings Association, 480,000 child trust funds (CTFs) have been opened since March last year, with 134,000 of these in the last quarter alone.
Commenting on the announcement, David White, chief executive of The Children's Mutual, explained that when things are going well such as rising house prices and healthy stock markets, it is easy for people to just keep spending.
"What happens [during] downturns in markets is that people think 'You know what? We should really be a little bit more careful with our money and we should save a bit'," he said.
Mr White added that there is an increasing trend this year of people opening CTFs with a monthly direct debit.
As a result, he concluded that negative press regarding finances is actually making people think more about saving than they do in positive periods.
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