Only 43% of Brits will start the new decade with their finances in good shape

According to new research¹ released today, only 43% of Brits will start the new decade with their finances in good shape.  

Younger adults are the least optimistic about their finances.  Just 29% of 18 to 24-year olds and 26% of 25 to 34-year olds feel they are in good order.  In stark contrast, over half of 55 to 64-year olds and 68% of those aged 65 and over will start 2020 with their finances in fine fettle.

Over a third (35%) of people surveyed said they really need to reduce their outgoings in 2020.  Areas people will look to make savings include grocery bills, TV subscription services, energy bills, and car and home insurance:  

Commenting on the research, Lee Griffin, CEO and a founder of GoCompare said, “The New Year is often the time when we reflect on things we want to achieve or behaviour we want to change.  It is the time that many people get stuck into the home admin with renewed energy.  As a result, we always see a spike in switching activity in January as more people shop around for car and home insurance. 

“The research shows that over a third of people are starting the new decade really needing to make savings. The good news is, there’s a relatively easy and pain-free way to change your finances for the better, one which allows you to get the same goods and services - but just pay hundreds of pounds less for them. 

“Using a comparison site like GoCompare enables you to shop around for the best deals on your insurances, credit cards, and other financial products.  If you’ve never changed providers or haven’t done so for a while, the savings can be significant.  Providers constantly review their pricing so, even if you think you’re currently getting a good deal, it’s worth regularly shopping-around - just to make sure.   For example, customers shopping around with us could save up to £240 on their car insurance and just under £103 on their home insurance².”

GoCompare’s tips for household financial admin:  

1. Diary key dates including renewal dates, expiry dates of fixed rates or tariffs, the end of introductory offers. This will give you time to review your arrangements;
2. NEVER accept an insurance renewal or energy tariff change without first checking that the new price you are being offered is competitive;
3. Compare prices and headline rates and, read the small print. Make sure you’re making like-for-like comparisons and understand all the charges, any penalties, exclusions and terms and conditions you will be required to meet, and that the product is right for you;
4. If you’ve signed up for a product with an attractive introductory rate, review the arrangement before the end of the offer period - otherwise, you could end up paying more in the long-run;
5. Use a comparison website – they provide quick and up-to-date information on a wide range of financial products and services.

-Ends-

For further information please contact:

Anders Nilsson or Louisa Marsden at GoCompare on 01633 654 054 / 01633 655 132

Gordon, Jason or Liz at MAW Communications on 01603 505 845

Keep up-to-date with GoCompare on Twitter; @GoCompare

Notes to editors

¹On 20 December 2019, Bilendi conducted an online survey among 2,000 randomly selected British adults who are Maximiles UK panelists.  The margin of error-which measures sampling variability-is +/- 2.2%. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender, and regional data to ensure samples representative of the entire adult population of the United Kingdom. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.

²GoCompare switch and saving figures based on independent research from Consumer Intelligence, between 1 August to 31 August 2019, a comparison of 28 insurers from our panel and found 51% could save up to £240.04 with us on their car insurance. 25% of customers who provided their buildings and contents insurance renewal price saved up to £102.95 with Gocompare.com (01 Jun 2019 to 31 Aug 2019). 

GoCompare

GoCompare is a comparison website that enables people to compare the costs and features of a wide variety of insurance policies, financial products, and energy tariffs.

GoCompare does not charge people to use its services, and it does not accept advertising or sponsored listings, so all product comparisons are unbiased. GoCompare makes its money through fees paid by the providers of products that appear on its various comparison services when a customer buys through the site.

GoCompare does not sell its customers’ data.

When it launched in 2006, it was the first comparison site to focus on displaying policy details rather than just listing prices, with the aim of helping people to make better-informed decisions when buying their insurance. GoCompare has remained dedicated to helping people choose the most appropriate products rather than just the cheapest, and has teamed up with Defaqto, the independent financial researcher, to integrate additional policy information into a number of its insurance comparison services. This allows people to compare up to an extra 30 features of cover.

GoCompare is the only comparison website to be invited to join the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

For more information visit www.gocompare.com and www.gocomparegroup.com