Don’t gamble on Lotto lunacy
Oct 16 2009 by John Cranage, Birmingham Post
A financial expert has attacked Britain’s “Lotto lunacy” which is seeing cash-strapped individuals pinning their hopes on winning the Lottery.
Adrian Pickersgill, a director of Stratford-upon-Avon firm Self Financial Planners, said it was a grim reflection on most people’s “lack of financial literacy”. His comments followed claims that, despite the massive odds against them, more than one in four Britons were relying on the Lottery as a way of improving their financial position.
Mr Pickersgill charged: “It is unbelievable how few people are planning properly for their future priorities and goals.
“It is a desperate statement on attitudes towards money. The reason so many sit on their hands rooting for a Lottery win is due to poor financial education. What do schools, colleges or universities teach about money and investing? Sadly the answer is very little.
“Many remain stuck in the immediate gratification culture – borrow today, pay back tomorrow. People borrowing money for cars, high definition televisions, holidays and the like are being taken for a ride – the end result is that the item costs far more than it should.
“This is ‘must have’ Britain. There are still far too many people living beyond their means.
“Meanwhile, they are not investing in assets that provide income – such as equities, property and businesses.
“Birmingham was once the city of a thousand trades – today, the West Midlands is criticised for its lack of entrepreneurialism. Somehow we need as a country to get financially savvy again.”
The YouGov survey – commissioned by the Institute of Financial Planning in association with National Savings and Investments – revealed how just one in 20 planned to seek professional help to improve their finances.
Yet there is a mere one in 14 million chance of hitting the Lottery jackpot.
The survey found that:
n Only 23 per cent of people believe they are saving enough for future financial needs, with 22 per cent saving nothing at all.
n The household circumstances of 43 per cent of Britons have become worse in the last six months.
n More than half of respondents said their family, partner or dependants would struggle to some extent financially if they were to die prematurely.
n People’s confidence in all but the safest of financial products is low. While around half said they were confident using a building society or UK bank for savings up to £50,000, only one in ten was confident about investing in global equities or shares of international companies. Fewer than one in five would be confident about investing in fixed interest securities or gilts, or in the shares/equities of UK companies.
n More than half said they were struggling to some degree to keep up with bills and credit commitments, though only five per cent were actually falling behind. However, 43 per cent often or sometimes struggled to make it to the next payday.
n The good news is that Britons have been reducing debt in the last year. The number with an outstanding balance on credit cards fell seven per cent, those with authorised overdrafts fell by 20 per cent, and unsecured personal loans by 24 per cent. Even more encouraging is the fact the number of people with no outstanding balance rose dramatically, from 25 per cent in 2008 to 37 per cent in 2009.
Mr Pickersgill said people should take note of the advice from pundit and City veteran Justin Urquhart Stewart who said: “You don’t travel without a map and you don’t run a business without a plan, so why do we manage our finances by mistake?”
He added: “There seems to be a myth that financial planning is just for the wealthy or that professional help is expensive. Neither is true.”
At times of economic uncertainty, financial family planning was even more important.
