Brits have plenty of money worries, but instead of getting to the bottom of them, new research suggests that many people are simply burying their heads in the sand.
More people than ever are in debt, yet figures show that the vast majority say they can't do anything about it because they don't have time to sit down and work through their finances. Many others admitted to feeling too overwhelmed at the thought of getting to the bottom of their money problems. In short, the research concluded that people are putting off sorting out their finances, and that this is making their situation much worse than it needs to be.
According to the research, nearly six and a half million people say they have no time to go through their paperwork and bank statements - which helps explain why so many are battling mountains of debt, with money going out that they can't control.
The figures also show that nearly five million people try to get on top of their money problems at some point during the year, but when they dig into their spending habits and try to consolidate their debts, they feel out of their depth and put it off. That is worrying, to say the least. If people feel overwhelmed when they try to get on top of their finances, they are probably in a worse financial state than first thought.
It also means that millions of people may never break out of the debt cycle they are in, and will keep leaking money when they really need to be tightening up.
The same study found that people take the same relaxed attitude to retirement and savings. Nearly 40% say they haven't yet looked into life insurance, while 51% are concerned that they haven't prepared anything for retirement.
Only 12% said they regularly monitor their finances and are happy with how things look - and many of those admitted to managing their money during work time, because it was the only time they had. Our advice is simple: make time for your finances, even if it feels as though there aren't enough hours in the day.
It's also worth going through your finances with family members. They may help you see the light at the end of the tunnel and suggest ways of saving you hadn't thought of. Sharing the job can also lift some of the weight that so often bogs people down.