Costs are rising for all UK households - but the silver lining is that the rates paid by savings deals are too.
UK inflation has climbed to 9.1% today as the cost of living crisis continues to squeeze household finances.
The consumer prices index (CPI) measure of inflation rose in the 12 months to May to its highest level since March 1982.
When inflation rises, it basically means that your money doesn’t go as far as it used to.
For example, if something cost £1 a year ago and the rate of inflation was 9% since that time it would cost £1.09 today.
Inflation also affects the spending power of any spare cash you have.
If you kept £100 under your mattress for a year and inflation is 9%, the spending power of that £100 will be more like £91 after 12 months - because it will have fallen in value by 9%, or £9.
The reality is slightly more complicated than that, because inflation is a very rough figure, but that's essentially it.
Cash left under the mattress loses value in this way because it does not earn interest.
That is where savings deals come in, which pay you interest on the cash you put into them.
In an ideal world savers could put their cash into a deal paying an interest rate higher than inflation - meaning the spending power of their cash grows over time.
Unfortunately we are not living in that world.
There are no savings deals on the market paying more than inflation, and the best interest rate is just 5.02%.
But that doesn't mean savers should lose heart.
If you are lucky enough to have spare cash, putting it into a deal paying the best possible rate means you still offset the way erosion eats away at your hard-earned money.
What is the best savings rate available?
Technically the highest rates are paid by two current accounts.
It is unusual for current accounts to pay the most interest out of all savings deals, but in fact the top two deals are now bank accounts.
However, because of the strings attached to both deals you may be better off side-lining these and looking at other savings deals instead.
That is because both deals pay high interest, but only on small amounts of cash, so if you have more than £1,500 to save then other deals might make more sense.
The top rate on the market is 5.02%, for a Virgin Money M Plus current account - but only for people who are not currently Virgin customers.
The Virgin Money option pays 2.02%, which can be topped up to 5.02% for 12 months if you swap your main current account to Virgin.
But the rate is paid only on up to £1,000 a year, meaning you could earn £50 at most.
The second-best rate is 5%, which is paid by Nationwide for anyone taking out its FlexDirect current account.
However, while the 5% rate looks great, the deal is not easy to get and has several strings attached.
Firstly, the rate is only paid on up to £1,500 of your cash per year - meaning you'd get £75 at most.
Second, new customers will need to apply and be accepted for the account, which will require bringing ID into a Nationwide branch.
Thirdly, the 5% rate only lasts a year, and falls to 0.25% after that.
Finally, you have to pay £1,000 into the account every month to get the rate.
That sounds like too much hassle - what else pays well?
Fixed-rate bonds are the savings deals that normally pay the most interest, but these deals require you to put your money away for one, two, three or five years.
Savers who don't want to part with their cash for more than a year can get a 2.6% rate from Atom Bank, which requires at least £50 to take the deal out.
The top fixed-rate bond pays 3.05%, but to get that you would need to lock your cash away for five years with a deal from Monument, and pay in at least £25,000.
The next best rate for a five-year bond is 3%, from Raisin, which requires £1,000 to open.
What if I don't want to lock my money away?
If you want quick access to your cash, an easy access account is a good bet.
The top rate on the market is 1.56%, from Virgin Money, and you can open it with £0.
The main string attached is that you will need to open a Virgin current account to get the deal, but you don't have to actually use it.
The second-best easy access rate is 1.5%, from Chase, which can also be opened with £0 and needs a Chase bank account to be eligible.
If you can't be bothered opening a new current account, Zopa is paying 1.4% for an account you can open with £1.
