One in five Brits say that their debts from products such as credit cards and personal loans are too high for them to feel financially secure, according to new research from Scottish Widows.
In addition, many people seem to be burying their heads in the sand when it comes to money, with 35 per cent saying that they neglect their finances. Of those that said they couldn’t focus on their finances as much as they’d like to, 21 per cent said this was because their debts are too high, 32 per cent said they don’t get paid enough and a quarter said they simply try and push money out of their mind on a day-to-day basis.
Of those surveyed, 38 per cent said they would like to focus more on savings. A third said they can only focus on short-term savings at the moment, but 11 per cent admitted that they’d like to pay more attention to long-term savings if they could.
Iain McGowan, a savings expert at Scottish Widows, said, “Even though the recession may be officially over, the importance of having a financial cushion to fall back on is at the front of a lot of people's minds, but time and money constraints prevent them from being able to do the things they need to in order to feel as secure as they would like.
“It’s extremely worrying that so many people bury their heads in the sand. By carefully planning their finances for the future, they could avoid a lot of this worry in the long-term.”
