Do you remember a while ago when we published the list of who owned who from a savings point of view? Do you remember when Northern Rock "went bust" and was saved by the Bank of England? Do you remember when Iceland went bust and the savings protection scheme came to the rescue of savers? Do you remember the concern over HBOS when it was quickly sold to Lloyds TSB? Yes? Then what conclusions do they lead you to?

All too often people rush to make conclusions without some real thought. Remember those lines outside Northern Rock?

On the whole, too many people do not think through what is happening financially, and too many people act almost on impulse. Yet if you think things through a little, then you can come to some very simple and accurate conclusions on what should be done with your savings (not your investments). Follow these rules to make sensible investment decisions:

Rule 1
If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.
Too often people fall for a good headline and don't read the small print. Look at all the high interest rate offers in the press, and then look at the small print. You must always ask yourself, why can one bank pay more than double anyone else? It's usually because they need your money - and why do they need it? Because they don't have enough; it is just simple supply and demand.

Rule 2
Provided it's UK registered, everything is safe up to £50,000. The rates may look overly good, but if the amount of your savings is less than £50,000 it's guaranteed by the Government, so who cares if they go bust trying to attract extra money. The important point here is to make sure that you know who owns who. For example, if you have money with both Bradford & Bingley and Abbey, then your protection level falls because as far as compensation registration is concerned they are the same bank.

Rule 3
Only National Savings (NS&I) is totally safe.
There is a reason why NS&I generally pays lower rates than everyone else. It's because the money is totally secure and safe. You see, the £50,000 can be taken away at any time, but NS&I is totally Government backed. This means that it doesn't just have their guarantee, it is the Government. And so unless UK plc goes bust, then your money is totally safe.