Yahoo Movies Three in five Brits run out of money before pay day
More than three in five Brits frequently run out of money before their next pay day, research shows.
A survay by The Money Pig revealed is not an uncommon occurance for Brits to find themselves short of money before payday, and money fears are often at the forefront of many their minds.
In fact, in a YouGov survey of 1,443 Brits, amost a third 29% said their financial circumstances have worsened in the past six months.
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More than three in five (64%) Brits admited to running out of money before payday, with most running out five days before the next one, on average. Interestingly, 36% state that they “never” run out of money before payday — with three quarters being men.
And more than half of Brits 53% could only go one month or less without borrowing money if they lost their job.
In fact, only a quarter of respondents said that they could go six months or more with their current savings.
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Savings
Over a third (36%) of Brits said they currently do not have savings above £100 — 46% male and 54% female.
Additionally, only 55% said they put money aside as soon as they get paid, revealing 45% of Brits are unable to put money aside at the end of the month, possibly due to a low income or too many outgoing expenses to account for.
Shockingly, over half (56%) said they, or someone they know, currently has more than one job to make ends meet.
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Interestingly, The Money Pig discovered that seven in 10 (71%) Brits are unhappy with their current level of savings, with most — 59% — of them being women.
Overall, the results show that men are more confident in their current financial situation, in comparison to women, as more men “never” run out of money before payday than women, on average.
However, women appear to be more effective savers as more than half of women (56%) said they put money aside as soon as they’re paid, in comparison to 44% of men. A further 53% of women monitor their spending, in comparison to 47% of males.
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Spending
When asked if they monitor their spending throughout the month, 47% said they don’t, with 57% being men, and 56% being aged 18 to 24.
Health
When asked if money worries ever negatively affected their mental health, more than a whopping three in five (66%) Brits said yes.
With such high numbers of Brits unstable in their finances, money expert Kane Georgiou from The Money Pig provided some top tips on how to track your money.
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Top tips for tracking your money
You must utilise a cashflow sheet. All expenses should be written down and accounted for, so that you know exactly how much you have left at the end of the month.
When you know your total monthly available budget to spend, try taking it out in cash and only using cash for purchases for the month. Using a debit or credit card for all purchases is an easy way to rack up debt without knowing.
Use an app to help track your income/expenditure.
