Unfortunately, even while we hang onto this hope, more worries snap around our heels: will these rates last? Will they keep going up? And should we fix for a period now in order to get a better rate or hold off for something even more rewarding?

It’s a welcome change to have good news for savers, At the time of writing, the most competitive access rates were up around 2.5 per cent, and the most competitive one-year fixed rate on the market at 4.2 per cent. Compare this to a year ago when easy access was just a fraction over 0.5 per cent, and a one-year fixed rate at 1.5 per cent. Even back in August this year, you’d have been pleased with easy access at under 2 per cent and a one-year fix at less than 3 per cent.

For your emergency savings, it’s a no brainer to switch into a competitive easy access account, and make the most of these deals.

Savings deals are improving as interest rates go up.

However, once you have three to six months’ worth of essential expenses in there (or one to three years’ worth in retirement), you need to decide what to do with any other savings. It’s usually worth considering tying up some of the money in a fixed rate account in return for a higher rate of interest, but it’s incredibly difficult to tell whether you should fix at current rates or hang on for them to rise further.

What next for rates?

Certainly savings rates haven’t finished rising yet, because market expectations haven’t been fully priced in. You can see where it’s going by looking at the swaps market – which is where banks trade a floating rate for a fixed one. Right now, the market price for 12 months swaps is close to 5 per cent, which indicates there are more rate rises on the cards.

Waiting for a better fixed rate is a perfectly reasonable approach, as long as you know what rate you’re waiting for, because it’s notoriously difficult to spot when rates have peaked. The savings market tends to inch its way up. No bank wants to pay more than they have to in order to attract new deposits, so they take it in turns to push fractionally ahead. It means that instead of getting a big bang of rate rises when the Bank of England hikes rates, we get a constant shuffling instead. It means it’s incredibly difficult to know when the shuffle will stop until it starts to move back down again.

When are you ready to fix?

Instead, it’s worth making a decision about the interest rate you would be happy to fix at, within reason, so when you reach that point, you’ll be prepared to fix.

In theory, for many savers, we may be getting close to that point. When we asked people how much extra interest they would have to earn before they’d consider a fix, on average they said between 4 per cent and 5 per cent. For someone whose cash is languishing in a branch-based high street easy access savings account, rates are knocking on that door. Most are paying around 0.4 per cent, so a switch to the most competitive one-year fix would make them 3.8 per cent more in interest. Those in a Barclays Easy Saver could make 4.05 per cent more.

In reality it may take more than this. When we surveyed people in April, half of those who had opted for easy access savings said they wanted to keep all their money handy just in case, while over a quarter said they used easy access because it made them feel more comfortable.

Against a backdrop of high inflation, the energy crisis and political uncertainty, it’s hardly a surprise that savers are nervous, so some may need a higher rate before considering a fix.

When will this happen?

Whatever you decide is the right rate to fix at, bear in mind that rises aren’t going to happen at breakneck speed. Not only do the banks not want to raise rates more than they have to, on the other side of the equation is demand for loans. As rates rise, people will be less keen to borrow at a higher rate, so they won’t need to raise as many deposits in order to fund the lending

There are a few things that would speed it up. If one bank breaks ranks in an effort to attract significant deposits, it will encourage others to follow suit. Meanwhile, if a much larger bank pushes its rates up, it will take an outsized portion of the deposits available, creating more pressure from those just behind to get out in front. However, we have no way of knowing whether either of these things is on the cards.

It means you could be waiting a while to reach your target rate. And if your money is languishing in an account paying a fraction of 1 per cent in the interim, you’ll be losing far more of its spending power than you need to. It means you might want to move into competitive easy access account – where you can currently earn up to 2.5 per cent - until you’re ready to fix.

That way, whatever happens to rates, you’re covered. You’re getting the best rate you can right now in the kind of account you’re comfortable with, and you have a plan for getting a rate you’re happy with when you’re ready to fix. At a time like this, it’s useful to have one less thing to worry about.

Couples and Money

Most of us are sick to death of talking about how the cost of everything is rising, and most couples would love to just ignore it all and pretend it isn’t happening. However, our research shows that the more we work together with a partner on major financial decisions, the better our chances of getting through this in one piece.

The HL Savings & Resilience Barometer measures how we’re doing in all sorts of areas of our finances, from debt to savings and whether we have enough cash at the end of the month. It then breaks it down by whether people say the highest earner in the house makes the big financial decisions alone, whether their partner does, or whether they manage things together.

It found that those who work together are in a better financial position than everyone else. Overall around half of people say they have enough cash left at the end of the month, which rises to almost two-thirds among couples who make big financial decisions together. Meanwhile, although two-thirds of people have enough emergency savings, this rises to around three-quarters among couples who plan together. And while two in five are on track for a moderate income in retirement, this rises to half of all couples who manage their cash together.

When we forecast ahead to see where people will stand a year into the cost-of-living crisis, everyone is worse off, but couples who are in it together tend to fare much better. A year into the cost-of-living crisis, 57 per cent of people will have enough savings, but for couples who work together this rises to 69 per cent. Meanwhile overall just 12 per cent will have enough cash left at the end of the month, but this rises to 16 per cent among couples who plan together.

Most of don’t relish the idea. Some prefer to leave money matters in the hands of the person who cares the most, or understands it better. Others struggle to see eye-to-eye on the finances. However, sharing the big financial decisions means you’re more likely to have robust finances in every area, so it’s worth giving it a go.

Sarah Coles is a Senior Personal Finance Analyst for Hargreaves Lansdown and Podcast Host for Switch Your Money On

How to find the best savings rates for you as deals dramatically improve: Sarah Coles