A survey by MoneySupermarket has found that the biggest cause of worry for people throughout 2012, and the most common area of their lives that people want to change in 2013, is their finances. When asked, 34% of people said that they worried about their financial situation every day, and 60% of people said that the increasing cost of living causes them stress.
It’s a clear indication that the ongoing financial crisis and all the problems it has brought, including a lack of jobs, increasing inflation and big jumps in the cost of living whilst interest rates stay low, is affecting not just people’s bank balances but their overall attitude and mental health as well. In a separate MyVoucherCodes.co.uk survey, people were affected so badly that as many as 31% said their New Year’s resolution was to save more money, whilst 22% wanted to get out of debt in 2013.
Some of the biggest financial pressures weighing on people’s minds included repaying mortgages and loans. The fear of having a house repossessed was particularly strong, which is unsurprising given the implications that defaulting can have. Doing enough to ensure that repossession doesn’t take place can hurt a family in other ways, including making it more difficult to put food on the table or creating a need to cut back during special occasions such as birthdays or Christmas.
MoneySupermarket’s head of banking, Kevin Mountford, tried to ease people’s fears: “If you are in a position where you are worrying about money, you can take positive action to relieve this – there are ways to take control of your finances and reduce the worry they can cause. Understanding and controlling your household budgeting better and avoid unnecessary overspending can help alleviate some of the anxiety, even if times remain tough.”