69% of Individuals regret not having done more to secure a better financial future

Managing to do everything on your wish list for the year ahead is rare.

The gym membership fee that leaves your account each month, despite the threshold only having been crossed twice since taking it out, can provide a monthly reminder of forlorn best intentions.

For some, the impact of not following through on New Year’s resolutions can be felt far into the future. That is particularly true for good intentions around health and finances.

Scottish Friendly, the modern mutual, asked 2,000 people what advice they would give their younger selves, and for 69% they regret not having done more to secure a better financial future for themselves. Given the chance, they would tell their younger selves to save and invest more.

The number jumps to 82% when parents of toddlers were asked. And it also seems to be felt as a bigger lost opportunity for more women than men, with 71% of women saying they would tell their younger selves to save and invest more, compared to 68% of men.

Meanwhile, when asked if they think contributing to a nest egg is an acceptable gift to give to a child, 59% of UK adults say it is. And just 14% of UK adults say it is not. But here the gender divide is bigger and it is flipped – with 66% of men believing contributing to a child’s nest egg is an acceptable gift, compared to only 53% of women who believe it is.

There is also a clear divide between the generations on the subject with Millennials and Baby Boomers agreeing that contributing to a child’s nest egg is an acceptable gift – 61% and 63% respectively. Interestingly, it is also Millennials who most regret not saving and investing more when they were younger – with 76% saying if they could go back in time they would advise their younger selves to do so.

Kevin Brown, savings specialist at Scottish Friendly, says: “The holidays may be over but the financial hangover can last well into the new year for many. January is the time of year when that can become painfully apparent as many household budgets are stretched after the festivities. Building a financial buffer is key for financial resilience and we would love to see more children enter adulthood with a nest egg that not only provides that buffer but also removes admin hurdles to acting on those good saving and investing intentions by forming the habit early on.”

“This is why we’re calling on the government to relax Junior ISA (JISA) rules to allow grandparents to be able to open the policy on a child’s behalf. This would provide more flexibility, support and opportunity to build a better financial future for the next generation, and we know through our research there’s a growing demand from parents and grandparents for the current rules to be relaxed.”