Almost a third (29%) of workers worry about being unable to afford basic living costs, while 26% are worried about being in debt, according to new research of 2,000 workers from financial wellbeing experts WEALTH at work .
It seems that financial pressures are reshaping everyday behaviour. Almost half of workers (46%) are cutting back on non-essential spending, while 38% are shopping around for better deals, and 18% have taken on debt. Some are even working longer hours, perhaps to cope, with a quarter (25%) reporting they have worked more overtime.
Financial education is a powerful tool to help people overcome money worries and get on track with their finances.
WEALTH at work outlines 4 key ways that financial education can help people get on track with their finances:
- Building positive savings habits
Building new habits can be difficult, especially when it comes to money. Financial education can help people navigate challenges such as managing a budget and help them establish and stick to positive money habits. It can also help individuals recognise unhelpful patterns and reinforces positive savings habits and enables them to be more considered about spending. - Putting a financial plan together
Financial education can help people understand the importance of putting a financial plan together, including the value of an emergency fund to build financial resilience for unexpected events, for example, if the car breaks down or they face redundancy. It can also help people understand how small savings can compound over time, and how this can grow and help them meet future goals such as buying a house. - Preparing for retirement
One of the most crucial elements of financial planning is retirement preparation. Our research found 45% of employees think they won’t ever be able to afford to retire due to increasing costs. Financial education can help people understand how to make retirement affordable and achievable. Not only this, but it can also help individuals realise all the options available to them at the point of retirement. - Driving action
Financial education can help people get a firmer understanding of their situation, so that they can then take steps to improve it. This could include increasing pension contributions, reducing debt, saving tax or utilising workplace savings such as ISAs.Jonathan Watts-Lay, Director, WEALTH at work comments:
“Many leading workplaces want to support employees to be financially secure and offer financial education as part of their benefits package. People should make sure that they speak to their employer to see how they can help.”