What are the future financial goals of Brits in 2022?
To understand just how much the cost of living crisis has impacted Brits, we conducted research revealing how Brits’ future financial goals have changed.
Having savings, getting married and buying a house or car are common goals for many people. However, they’re not always realistic - and that’s completely fine. As the pressures of the cost of living crisis continue, it’s likely that many households are focused on finding ways to manage their personal finances.
But just how have Brits’ spending habits been impacted? To answer this question, Lowell has conducted a survey to compare Brits’ future financial goals before the pandemic in 2019 to now in 2022.1
Brits’ financial goals for 2022 and how this compares to 2019
Taking a look at the results, the financial goal which Brits are prioritising in 2022 is being able to do the weekly food shop. This has seen a +21% change since 2019 as Brits look for ways to save on their groceries. Comfortably paying bills has seen the second highest increase in interest since 2019 (+15%), which could relate to rising energy bills.
Meanwhile, some financial goals Brits are not focusing on as much in 2022 include getting married, which has gone down by -25% since 2019. Not far behind is buying gifts for friends and family and buying a car, both seeing a -17% change in the last three years.
Top financial goals for Brits in 2022
According to our research, the top financial goal for Brits in 2022 is to achieve financial stability (27%). Perhaps unsurprisingly, being in a position to comfortably pay the bills comes in second for over a quarter of Brits (26%).
This is followed by paying off debts, which has also seen an increase in the last few years - going from 22% of Brits in 2019 having the intention to do so up to 24% in 2022. If you’re a Lowell customer looking to clear your debt, or if you’re concerned about how your Lowell debt might impact you financially, please get in touch to see how we can help.
When it comes to more materialistic things, almost one in five (18%) are hoping to be able to afford a holiday in 2022 which has remained the same from 2019. Setting a goal of owning a home, however, has decreased slightly from 10% in 2019 to 9% in 2022.
Budgeting is so important in being able to reach your financial goals, especially at a time when the cost of living is increasing. For some top tips on budgeting, read our guide on how to create a budget and manage your money.
Younger generations have become more focused on paying off their debts
Whilst younger generations can sometimes be mislabelled as being uninterested in their finances, over one in five 16-24-year-olds (21%) said paying their debts off is a financial goal. This becomes particularly interesting when compared to 2019, with only 12% setting a financial goal to pay off their debts three years ago. In fact, nearly all age groups other than 35-44-year-olds have become more intent on paying their debts off in 2022.
For those aged 25-34, there has also been a shift in focus concerning getting married. In 2019, 17% of Brits had set themselves the financial goal of getting married, whereas in 2022 this has seen a decrease to just 11%.
How you can take control of your finances with Lowell
Regardless of whether there’s a cost-of-living crisis or not, the best way to manage your debt is to work with your creditors and talk through your options. If you’re struggling, they may be able to offer support, or you can seek free financial advice from a licensed organisation like StepChange. Our budget calculator is also a useful tool which can help you better understand how much you can afford to pay.
If you’re a Lowell customer, we want to support and help you on your journey to becoming debt-free with us.
Once you get in touch with us, we can agree an outcome that is both affordable and sustainable for you.
We understand that it isn’t always easy to take the first step, and that you might be putting off reaching out due to the stigma surrounding debt. However, we always put our customers first, and once you talk to us and we start working together, you’ll begin to feel more in control of your finances. For more financial research and information on how to manage your debt, head over to the Lowell blog.
Published by Stephanie North-Shaw on 23/09/2022
- Survey conducted by Censuswide on behalf of Lowell, 21.07.2022 – 25/07/202. 1,000 general respondents in the UK