Thursday 1 December 2016

Hey, man, let's talk about money!

But it all depends on where you are. Are you up north, dear reader(s)? Or are you down south? 'Christ! What fresh nonsense is this? What on earth are you going on about, boss?!' Ha! It's the Thursday morning PR email, my little invisible friend, back by popular demand ... as you can probably imagine.

Apparently, southern families spend more time talking about money than northern families. 'Oh, says who?' Says the RCI Bank -

Families in the south of the UK spend more time talking and thinking about money, exclusive research from RCI Bank has revealed, with the top four cities for money talk located in the southern part of the UK. On average, families living in southern England spend over hour and a half (1 hr 32 mins) discussing money each week, compared to an hour and 17 minutes spent by families living in northern England. With Christmas around the corner, families are also using savings as a buffer to cover their festive spending.

'Are these guys for real?!' Yes, Voice. 'Come on! Does it really matter that southern families spend fifteen minutes more each week discussing money?' Well ... / Just shut up!

Money issues have traditionally been seen as taboo for Brits to discuss at the kitchen table, but families are now spilling the beans on their money ideas and concerns, with one in ten (8%) families across the UK admitting to always having money matters on their mind or talking about them out loud. RCI Bank's exclusive data further reveals that on a national level, a quarter (25%) of families are now spending on average over 21 hours per year more thinking and talking about money than they were six months ago, with one in ten (9%) spending at least two extra hours per week doing it.

Well ... 'Absolutely ridiculous, Mikey!' It must mean something to somebody. Jean-Louis Labauge cares about it. 'Who the hell is he?!' Christ!

Jean-Louis Labauge, CEO of RCI Bank, said: "With political and financial uncertainty continuing to be felt following the Brexit vote and the recent US election, it is clear that families across the UK are keen to voice their money concerns, with the aim of strengthening their financial situation. Whilst it's encouraging to see southern families taking up the money talk mantle, hopefully families in the north and the UK's older generations will be upping their money talk in the future."

Er ... yeah. 'Ha!' Well, there's Brexit, man. Brexit has ruined things for a lot of people. 'A little bit of politics, dear reader(s).' However, I'm not Ben Elton. Er ... 'Is there much more of this?' Yes. I think I'll just finish with Christmas -

The impact of Christmas. With Christmas fast approaching, a third (30%) of adults are planning to dig into their savings in order to cover their festive spending habits, with a further one in ten (13%) using their credit cards and one in 20 (5%) having to use their overdraft.

So, it's going to be a Money Christmas. 'What's new?' / Ah, that's it. 'Enough already.' Exactly. People who talk about money all the time really annoy me.