Financial difficulties ‘affecting wellbeing’

One in three people feels their financial situation is having a negative impact on their mental wellbeing, a survey has found.

A similar proportion said their finances were negatively affecting their emotional wellbeing, according to the research for HSBC UK.

The release of the research coincides with Debt Awareness Week this week. Nearly one in four (24 per cent) people who have taken out non-mortgage credit said that covering everyday living expenses was the main reason for their most recent loan.

A fifth (19 per cent) said that an unexpected expense was behind their most recent borrowing.

Credit cards were the most common forms of borrowing among people surveyed, followed by personal loans, overdrafts and buy now, pay later schemes. Some people had also taken out informal loans from friends or family members.

Six in 10 (60 per cent) said that they were confident in their financial resilience and ability to handle unexpected financial expenses in the next 12 months.

Just over half (52 per cent) reported feeling confident that they can achieve their financial goals for the next year. Censuswide surveyed 2,000 people in the UK in March. Madhu Kejriwal, head of unsecured lending at HSBC UK, said: “If you feel your financial situation is impacting your mental or emotional wellbeing, you’re not alone. “Reaching out to your bank is a good place to start – from free ‘always on’ webinars to one-to-one financial health checks for customers and non-customers alike – we are here to help. And if you have debts from multiple providers, free, impartial advice from organisations like StepChange Debt Charity can also help.” The governmentbacked MoneyHelper website has tools to help people manage their money and website helpforhouseholds. campaign.gov.uk has information about support with living costs.