Fighting the flab is number one New Year’s Resolution

The most popular New Year’s resolution in 2014 will be to lose weight, according to new research by budgeting account provider thinkmoney.
 
Two fifths of people – that’s equivalent to 20 million UK men and women – will vow to fight the flab next year, while one third will resolve to get fit.
 
The desire to lose weight and do more exercise are the most popular New Year’s resolutions by far, thinkmoney found. Next on the list was giving up smoking. One in ten people – an estimated 5.5 million – said that quitting cigarettes would be on their list of resolutions for next year.
 
A total of 13.6% of people told thinkmoney that they would drink less or give up drinking altogether in 2014.
 
Financial resolutions are also popular. thinkmoney discovered that more than a third of people plan to squirrel money away next year, either by saving more or starting a pension. Nearly a quarter of men and women will resolve to pay off their debts and 22.6% of survey respondents said they would set a budget and stick to it.
 
Shopping around for cheaper insurance and changing utility providers are also high up on people’s lists of financial resolutions.
 
However, it seems that many Britons are realistic about their chances of sticking to their New Year’s resolutions. According to thinkmoney’s research, 17% of people expect to fail in their resolve at some point between just one week and a month into the New Year.
 
Around 15% said they would most likely abandon their resolution before the first three months of 2014 were up. Only one third said they would keep to their promises for the whole year.
 
Some people don’t bother making any resolutions. More than 7 million UK adults said they had no plans to do anything differently from January 1st.
 
Across the age ranges, the over 55s are the least likely to write a list of New Year’s resolutions (perhaps experience has taught them the folly of this), while regionally, people living in Yorkshire are the most unlikely to make a pledge at midnight on New Year’s Eve.
 
Ian Williams, director of communications at thinkmoney, said: “It’s great to see that people are keen to improve their quality of life in 2014, whether their resolution is to get fitter or to get on top of their finances. However, many of us start the year with good intentions that don’t always work out. If someone is worried about sorting out their financial situation, thinkmoney’s Money Managers can help. They make sure that bills are paid on time and provide day-to-day help with budgeting.”