Financial frets and regrets revealed

Finances are a huge concern for the majority of Britons

In a survey led by Unity Mutual, 2,000 people in the UK aged 18-80 were asked to lend their thoughts on finances. The data was collected during February 2024. Comprising an even split of genders and set across all regions of the United Kingdom, the report shone the spotlight on how Britons feel about their current financial situation.

How does your current financial situation make you feel?

Almost six in ten Britons (58%) say they are stressed about their current financial situation, with females worrying ten percent more than men. The impact of this leads to a number of negative issues like; anxiety (55%), feeling worried all the time (43%), not being able to enjoy day-to-day life (39%), a negative impact on mental health (39%) and feeling helpless (33%).

Those in their 20s are the most concerned about their finances (77%), with money worries leading to 18% of them taking up bad habits like drinking and gambling. Those in their 70s are the least worried (23%).

What worries you the most?

The rising cost-of-living came out on top (58%), followed by not enough saved in case of emergency (35%), something going wrong at home which would cost a lot to fix (28%) and not paying enough into a pension (18%).

Those in their 20s and 30s are worried about high property and mortgage costs (24%) while those in their 40s are worried about their mortgage going up (21%).

Do you have any financial regrets?

More than half the nation (51%) have financial regrets which include not putting money into a savings account each month (46%), wishing they’d not spent money on pointless things (43%), wishing they’d learnt about finances at a younger age (34%), choosing a better paid job or career (29%) and not paying enough into a pension each month (24%). One in 10 (12%) also wished they’d married someone with more money rising to 17% of those in their 20s and 19% of those in their 70s.

What advice would you give your younger self?

The financial advice most people would give to their younger selves is to:

• Live within your means (41%)
• Don’t overspend (39%)
• Don’t get into debt (38%)
• Save a set amount each month (36%).

View the full Financial Worries report here.