Can Brits hold their financial resolve in 2007? Or will our good intentions go to waste? Again...
- Over 16 million British adults are set to make a New Year’s resolution next year
- But over half (52%) will lose their resolve before June is up
- Over a fifth (21%) aim to address their financial situation in 2007 – but is our saving and budgeting behaviour adequate enough to ensure these resolutions last, asks Unbiased.co.uk?
Next week nearly two-fifths of the British adult population (38%) are planning to embark upon 2007 with a New Year’s resolution in mind, and over a fifth (21%) – 8.9 million people – are likely to be confronting their finances. However, if last year’s behaviour is anything to go by, we won’t be sticking to these resolutions for nearly long enough to guarantee any change to our lives. Indeed, annual research from Unbiased.co.uk*, the organisation promoting the benefits of independent financial advice, reveals that last year, over half of people who made a resolution (52%) broke their promise before six months was up, and almost 2.2 million lost their resolve in less than a day!
Nonetheless, despite our lack of commitment, New Year’s resolutions remain as popular as ever, with the most common choices as follows:
- Losing weight/improving diet – 26% of Brits want to shed some pounds next year
- Tackling the finances – 21% are likely to attempt to this
- Taking more exercise – 10% of Brits want to get fit in 2007
- Giving up smoking – this is a resolution for one in ten
- Being happy – 6% of Brits intend to cheer themselves up next year
And when it comes to our financial goals:
- Over two fifths (43%) are hoping to curb their spending and budget more
- Almost two fifths (38%) intend to get out of the red and pay back any outstanding debts
- Just over a third (34%) want to save up for a specific purchase – a holiday, car, or luxury item for example
- But less than one in ten (9%) are considering sorting out their pension – despite endless suggestion that there is a pensions crisis in Britain
- And only just over one in ten (11%) are thinking about getting a foot on the property ladder – perhaps acknowledgement that property purchase is an increasingly unaffordable ambition?
However, despite these pledges to save and budget, evidence of any long-term commitment to financial pragmatism seems to be lacking from the UK consumer’s psyche. As Unbiased.co.uk’s quarterly Savings Brake** (the ratio of how much we are borrowing, not including mortgage debt, contrasted with how much we are saving) revealed in September, whilst we saved a record 38.6 billion between April and June, we continued to take on new debt, and for every pound saved, we borrowed a significant 48 pence.
Karen Barrett, of Unbiased.co.uk commented, “Many of us clearly have good intentions when it comes to sorting out our financial situations but the all-important question is can we stick to our guns and make these good intentions a practical reality? And what is more, are we capable of adopting a joined-up way of thinking when it comes to our spending and borrowing behaviour? As our research and latest Savings Brake data show, the current answer to these questions is a resounding ‘no’...
She continued: “It is vital that people set manageable targets for their finances in 2007. By sharing your financial goals with an IFA, you will have a far greater chance of making your goals a reality”
Unbiased.co.uk offers consumers a range of information and interactive tools at www.unbiased.co.uk/getsaving, to help them take financial control. Visitors can also obtain details of local IFAs who focus on saving.
-ends-
Notes to editors
*Unbiased.co.uk commissioned a YouGov survey of 2,465 GB adults between 27 – 29 September 2006
**According to independent analysis of the most recent official figures conducted by independent agency, RAKM, on behalf of Unbiased.co.uk. Data sources are Bank of England, British Bankers Association (unsecured borrowing + equity release, no mortgages), ABI, AITC and IMA. With detailed queries on this analysis call Paul Hersey on 01737 342863
IFA Promotion Savings Brake data
| Borrowing (ex mortgages) m | Savings m | ‘Savings Brake’ Pence borrowed for every pound saved |
2001 Q1 | 11,543 | 21,049 | 55p |
Q2 | 13,662 | 27,419 | 50p |
Q3 | 13,393 | 22,115 | 61p |
Q4 | 15,736 | 25,631 | 61p |
2002 Q1 | 18,190 | 23,087 | 79p |
Q2 | 18,560 | 28,655 | 65p |
Q3 | 21,434 | 20,993 | 102p |
Q4 | 20,026 | 27,045 | 74p |
2003 Q1 | 14,582 | 21,261 | 69p |
Q2 | 18,340 | 25,632 | 72p |
Q3 | 24,828 | 19,432 | 128p |
Q4 | 22,642 | 30,345 | 75p |
2004 Q1 | 20,602 | 19,430 | 106p |
Q2 | 19,994 | 29,135 | 69p |
Q3 | 19,662 | 24,266 | 81p |
Q4 | 17,316 | 32,885 | 53p |
2005 Q1 | 10,437 | 20,194 | 52p |
Q2 | 10,378 | 33,054 | 31p |
Q3 | 16,824 | 25,578 | 66p |
Q4 | 14,605 | 30,538 | 48p |
2006 Q1 | 4,928 | 31,033 | 16p |
Q2 | 18,571 | 38,563 | 48p |
For further information please contact:
David Elms | Laura Wood/Jonathon Grove |
Chief Executive | Lansons Communications |
Unbiased.co.uk | 020 7294 3689 / 020 7294 3653 |
020 7833 3131 |
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For expert comment or case studies from over 200 media-friendly IFAs, journalists should call unbiased.co.uk’s Media Services hotline on 020 7294 3682 or search online at www.unbiased.co.uk/media
1. Independent Financial Adviser Promotion
Unbiased.co.uk is the consumer brand of IFA Promotion, the organisation established in 1989 to promote the value and accessibility of independent financial advice to the public. It represents around 9,000 firms of independent financial advisers across the UK, incorporating over 17,000 registered individuals. These individuals hold over 20,000 incremental qualifications which are each individually verified by the awarding body. IFA Promotion welcomes the prominent display of incremental qualifications and further developments into the credentials of independent financial advice.
IFA Promotion is sponsored by 31 leading financial institutions, and in the past 12 months, over 600,000 consumers and businesses used unbiased.co.uk to find local independent financial advice.
IFA Promotion believes Independent financial advice should be:
- Affordable. The option to take independent financial advice should be available, by right, to all- not just the wealthiest in society.
- Convenient. IFAs should be available in the location of the consumer’s choice, wherever they live in the UK.
- Transparent. It must be clearly transparent to consumers who is able to offer independent financial advice and who is not.
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