Can Brits hold their financial resolve in 2007? Or will our good intentions go to waste? Again...

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• 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 IFA Promotion?

It may only be October, but nearly two-fifths of the British adult population (38%) are already 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 IFA Promotion*, the organisation promoting the benefits of 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 IFAP’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”

IFA Promotion 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

*IFA Promotion commissioned a YouGov survey of 2,465 GB adults between 27 – 29 September 2006

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