One in three Britons is planning to make a New Year’s resolution to tackle their finances in 2024 — and saving more for a rainy day is the most popular pledge.
As many as 25 per cent of those making a financial resolution plan to spend less, while 16 per cent plan to pay off at least some of their debts.
A further 16 per cent have decided to start shopping around more to get better deals on their household bills, while 15 per cent plan to make a will.
Starting to invest and paying more into a pension are also popular options, according to the poll by Opinium for wealth platform Hargreaves Lansdown.
Women are more likely than men to be planning to spend less (29 per cent versus 20 per cent) and they also want to save more (37 per cent compared with 28 per cent).
Good intentions: As many as 25% of those making a financial New Year’s resolution plan to spend less, while 16% plan to pay off at least some of their debts
However, men are twice as likely to plan to invest for the first time — 18 per cent of men compared with 9 per cent of women.
Making a resolution to save more — and spend less — may prove easier this year than last as the squeeze on household budgets begins to ease.
Households went into the New Year in 2023 facing a soaring inflation rate of 10.5 per cent. Today it is 3.9 per cent.
Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at wealth manager Hargreaves Lansdown, says: ‘The past 12 months have taken a serious toll on us all.
‘Rampant inflation and rising interest rates have put finances under more pressure than ever.’
She adds: ‘But the fact a third of us are making a financial New Year’s resolution indicates that for many there is an opportunity to be more optimistic for the year ahead, with wage rates finally rising faster than inflation.’
Hargreaves Lansdown has found more than a third of people — 36 per cent — do not have enough money saved for an emergency.
As a rule of thumb, this should add up to the equivalent of at least three months’ worth of spending.
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