How do you achieve financial wellbeing?

Understand what financial wellbeing means to you.

At Arbuthnot Latham, financial wellbeing is about how you relate to your money. It includes your knowledge, confidence, and resilience with finances, as well as how financial services support you.

But financial wellbeing can mean different things to different people.

For example, our survey found a big difference in how much people worry about their money based on their location - 88% of people in London said they worry about their finances versus 67% of people in Northern Ireland.

To further highlight how different peoples’ views diverge, our report shows a big split between how much men and women think they need in their pension pot to secure a comfortable retirement.

Demographic differences in pension expectations:

This is a difference of more than £100,000. There are no right and wrong answers, everyone sees the world differently.

What is important is that you take time and consider what matters to you. What do you want to achieve in your financial plan? What does ‘good’ look like to you?

Know the difference between financial security and financial wellbeing.

There is no doubt that there is a link between financial security and financial wellbeing.

To illustrate this, 91% of under 35s in our study said they are concerned about money whereas 37% of - traditionally more financially secure - over 65s say they ‘never’ worry about money.

However, despite the general affluence of our respondents, 87% of those we asked said they worry about the economy; 39% said they were anxious about their investments, 25% worried about providing for future generations, and 21% were concerned about mortgage payments.

Extrapolate these numbers across the country and you have a lot of people, with a lot of concerns, despite their level of wealth.

Are you worrying about money? Take a step back and question whether you need to be, is there a way of alleviating some of that stress…

Get the right support.

We also found that just 30% of people in our survey feel able to talk to their bank about money when something big happens in their life.

This is rather shocking.

What we are seeing is that people have the financial resources to achieve wellbeing, but do not feel they can get the right support.

While digital tools are useful for day-to-day finances, speaking directly to a professional who understands your situation is crucial.

In a similar vein, it is just as important to discuss your goals, obligations, and family views before seeking financial advice.

It is only by thinking about these things that you can start to come up with a solution.

Financial wellbeing involves setting clear goals and having a plan to reach them.

However, life is unpredictable, and regular check-ins are necessary to ensure you are still on track and happy with your progress.