Money comes before sex, work and food

One in four of the UK population (26%) rank money above sex, food, work and the weather, according to Picture Financial.

Figures from Picture’s report, Finance: The Final Frontier goes on to prove that (organised) money can in fact, buy happiness, with six in ten British consumers (62 per cent) admitting to feel happier when their finances are organised.

Our financial happiness can, however, be clouded when confronted with the confusing world of APRs and AERs, with 7.5 million of the population (16 per cent) reporting to not understand financial terms and language. People also struggle to spend time organising their money, with 1.8 million of us admitting to NEVER reviewing or sorting our finances and nearly 8 million only doing so once a year or less.

Julia Dallimore, Marketing Director of Picture Financial commented; “Our research has shown a strong link between happiness and organised finances, but our emotional well-being is not the only benefit to reviewing and sorting our credit and borrowing. Keeping a track of our incomings and outgoings and being clear about what we want to achieve with our money management can also make a real difference to our bank balance.”

With recent reports telling us that seeing friends and family every day is worth the equivalent of an £85,000 pay rise it is not surprising that in the Happiness Index, our loved ones made us happiest in life. Health, closely followed by laughter were the only other two things that made us happier in life than money. The weather, food and work all came lower in the ratings, with the lowest rank given to sex, which had the least impact on our emotional state.

Happiness Index

1. Friends and Family 95 %
2. Health 70 %
3. Laughter 53 %
4. Money 26 %
5. Food 17 %
6. Weather 15 %
7. Work 11 %
8. Sex 7 %

The Picture Financial rankings also found that women’s emotions are particularly swayed by the state of their finances. Almost one in five women (16 per cent) claimed that a lack of funds stopped them from being happier than they otherwise would be and nearly two thirds of women (64 per cent) said they were happier when they had organised their money, compared to 59 per cent of men. However, five per cent less of men said that organising their money made them happier and a quarter of men stated that they never thought about money, saying it had little to do with their every day happiness.

Chris Tapp, Associate Director, Credit Action added, “It is no secret that people can get confused by their finances, however it is important that people realise you don’t need to be an expert to effectively review and sort your money. We can all become better money managers by setting some clear objectives about what we want to achieve with our money and dedicating some time to regularly evaluate our financial situation. Just one hour a month can make a big difference to our permanent state of mind.

The value we put on financial security is also unaffected by our age. At all stages of life consumers are affected by major expenses, be it buying a home, paying for a wedding, or preparing for retirement. With leaving home and buying property being among the largest expenditures faced by the over 25 year olds, it is not surprising that 25-34 year olds were the group who worried most about their financial situation. The 45-54 year olds also reported the highest satisfaction, with 65 per cent admitting to feeling happiest when their finances were in order.

Picture Financial is urging consumers to take time out to become better money managers, and advises consumers to look for independent advice to help explain any financial jargon they might not understand. A good place to start is through the Financial Services Authority: fsa.gov.uk but you can also get advice through Credit Action creditaction.org.uk or Citizens Advice citizensadvice.org.uk.