Talk to us and sleep easy, bank advises

Nearly one in four Brits are kept awake at night worrying about their finances, new research has revealed.

09:23 27 August 2004

Nearly one in four Brits are kept awake at night worrying about their finances, new research has revealed.

However, more than 75 per cent of those worriers admit they have not considered professional help to sort out their finances a Yorkshire Bank survey has found.

Instead, nearly one in two (43 per cent) would prefer to trust their own judgement, rather than speak to someone else who might know better.

When these people do eventually drop off nearly half (48 per cent) of the 1,000 people questioned said they dream of a lottery win to fund their retirement and one in three (33 per cent) confessed they dream of having more savings.

Yorkshire Bank's head of financial planning, Julian Gauld, said: "It would appear that most people avoid dealing with financial challenges, continually putting them off to a later stage and hoping that everything will work out for the best."

He added: "Many people try to sleep off a problem, but as our survey shows people are even having difficulty doing just that. The best advice is, if worried about your finances, visit a financial planner - a trained professional who can offer advice on what is best for your money."

Mr Gauld concluded: "Financial planners aren't just for people suffering personal financial nightmares. They're also there for people saving towards buying a house, investing a lump sum, or looking at short or long term savings. They can offer advice on pretty much anything to do with personal finance."

According to Yorkshire Bank's research, five key life events can encourage people to save in advance. Those were: starting a family, buying the first house, retirement, funding once-in-a-lifetime activities and before making the decision to get married.