Nearly a third of Brits are worried they won't have enough money in the next five years to cover the costs of their domestic bills.

Research on behalf of Saga Savings has revealed that pressure to save for ‘rainy days' has become more acute, with worries about increased day to day bills and redundancy fears causing many Brits to think hard about their financial situation.

However, whilst the majority of people are currently spending less because their disposable income has diminished, one in eight are burying their head in the sand and don't even want to think about the financial future. A third of Britons are failing to take heed of their own concerns about their finances and haven't changed their spending and saving patterns since the onset of the credit crunch.

The worst thing to do is to bury your head in the sands – it's ignoring the problem and making you blind to the solutions. And there are solutions. If you are a homeowners there is no reason why you shouldn't be able to meet bills now and in the future: it's just down to using what you have.

Talk to a financial adviser and see what you options are, where your strengths lie and how to make the most of them. You may be surprised to find how much you have tied up in your home and even more surprised to find out how easy and cheap it may be to unlock some of that equity to consolidate debt, to shrink outgoings and to generally make your life a little bit easier.

SOURCE: Saga, 20/02/09

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