WAGS find saving easier than going on a diet

The rise in WAG culture may be blamed for women over spending on the credit card, but British women actually find saving money each month easier than following a healthy diet, according to new research from Engage Mutual Assurance.

Despite earning an average of 30 per cent less than men, the research suggests that women are in fact slightly more savvy with their money.

More than two in three women find it relatively easy to stick to a savings regime (67%) or a budget (70%), despite many finding it more difficult to eat healthily. More than one in two women say they would be unable to stick to a diet for six months (56%), whilst 40 per cent could not follow a healthy eating plan.

Interested in understanding how Britons attitudes to saving compare to other day-to-day disciplines, Engage Mutual Assurance questioned a GB representative sample of over 2,000 adults on which aspects of their lives they are able to maintain self-control over during a 6 months period.

Sisters Doing it for Themselves

Despite being far more likely to cave into chocolate cravings than men (39% compared to 20% of men), women are in fact moderately better than men at sticking to a budget (70% compared to 68% of men).

Disciplines women find it harder to follow for six months than saving:

Keeping to a diet (56%)
Going to the gym or exercising regularly (52%)
Following a healthy diet by eating 5-a-day (40%)
Giving up chocolate (39%)

Quitting Smoking Easier than Saving

With the smoke ban coming into force on the 1st July, the research also suggests that Britons will find it easier to go smoke free than close the savings gap. One in three Britons find regularly saving money difficult (32%), compared to just one in five who would find it difficult to give up smoking for six months (20%).

Families find it harder to save

Despite young people facing financial challenges of getting onto the property ladder and lower salaries, it is in fact people aged between 35 and 44 who find it hardest to budget. 40 per cent of people in this age group, who are likely to have young families, are unable to save money for the long term, compared to 32 per cent of Britons on average.

Karl Elliott, Marketing Director at Engage Mutual Assurance commented: “The good news from these results is that many Britons actually find saving as part of their day-to-day lives relatively easy. When you compare saving for the future to other common lifestyle challenges, you realise that getting into the habit of saving can be easier than changing your diet for example.

“By getting into the habit of saving more often Britons can help secure both their and their family’s future. Understanding that people need simple products which are easy to use in order to make savings accessible, Engage Mutual has launched its new EasySave regular saving product, which is a great way of saving of the future.”