Why people won’t stop to ask for directions

• 40% of people say they wouldn’t ask for help with budgeting, while 32% wouldn’t ask about debts and 26% wouldn’t seek support with their money worries.
• Despite there being big gaps in investment knowledge, 29% of people wouldn’t ask for help or advice on investment rules and 28% wouldn’t ask for support with investment ideas.
• 22% wouldn’t ask for help understanding pensions and retirement incomes – a notoriously complex area.
• In most areas, men are less likely to ask for help than women.

Figures from a survey of 2,000 people by Opinium for HL, September 2024

Sarah Coles, head of personal finance, Hargreaves Lansdown:

“Some people are much more comfortable tripping over in the dark than they are asking for someone to turn on the light. When they’re faced with financial problems, up to two in five won’t want to ask for help from anyone. And while in some cases it’s because they’re fairly sure they know what they’re doing, there are other far less sensible reasons they don’t stop to ask for directions.

Assumptions

Most commonly, people won’t ask for any help with budgeting – something that two in five people said. This may be because it’s something we often pick up as we go along, and may have been taught by our parents. However, by assuming we don’t need help, we may be missing a trick. We might not be using the online tools available, or we may not be considering all our needs – and making sure we free up some cash for things like saving for the future. It means that even when it comes to the basics of financial management, no man (or woman) is an island.

Taboos

Part of our reticence is that some subjects are considered taboo. This certainly goes for the issue of pay, which 35% of people don’t want to talk to anyone about. It means there’s a risk people are being undervalued and underpaid, but don’t feel they can discuss it at work or with their friends, because it’s such a sensitive issue. It is difficult to raise, but you should be able to find someone in a similar boat financially, who will understand your issues, or at least be able to ask helpful questions.

When this stretches to employee benefits, there are likely to be real missed opportunities. Some people may end up opting out of the workplace pension, failing to take advantage of employer matched contributions, or missing key things like nominating the beneficiaries of any life insurance or pension through work if they pass away. If you do nothing else, it’s worth asking for help from the human resources department or your manager, to check you’re not missing out.

Embarrassment

There are some things people don’t want to bring up because they’re too embarrassed to admit to them. It’s one reason why almost a third won’t talk to anyone about debts and over a quarter wouldn’t bring up their money worries. In some cases, this is because it’s not an issue for them. However, at some stage in almost everyone’s life, either of these two topics will become more pressing, so it’s vital we’re prepared to talk about it.

If you don’t know how to open up to friends and family about these things, you can start with a debt charity, who will be able to talk you through your options and help you see a way forward. They should also be able to support you in telling those you care about. It can feel impossible, but it’s vital that you do, especially with people you share finances with. If your partner doesn’t know about debts or financial concerns, they can’t help you put things right, and they may inadvertently end up making things worse.

Disengagement

Commonly people say they wouldn’t ask for help when it comes to investment. Some 29% say they wouldn’t ask for advice on investment rules – like how stocks and shares ISAs work – and 28% wouldn’t ask for help with investment ideas. Given that one in three people don’t understand investment until their 30s, and one in four people don’t understand it at all, the fact people don’t want advice is unlikely to be because they know it all.

It’s far more likely to be because a lack of knowledge means they’ve disengaged with the subject entirely and decided it’s not for them. However, those who’ve disengaged are still highly likely to be investors – through their workplace pension – they’re just in the dark about it. It means we don’t just need help getting to grips with investment, we also need support in understanding why it’s such a key part of our financial planning.  

It’s one reason why it’s so worrying that more than one in five people don’t seek any help or advice on pensions or SIPPs too. It means they may be missing out on the benefits that making active investment choices can make. There’s also a risk they start drawing an income without really appreciating the wider issues– which means they may take an approach that doesn’t suit them, and could leave them short of money later in retirement.

You don’t have to be an overnight expert in these areas. It’s just a good idea to commit to spending a few minutes once a month to check in with them – read an article or watch a video, or even have a podcast on in the background while you’re getting on with something else. Dipping into these issues regularly will mean you soon start to build your knowledge and understanding without really noticing.

Gender

There are some gender differences. They’re not dramatic, but they are persistent, and when it comes to almost every area of their finances, men are less likely to ask for help or advice than women. It’s difficult to know how much of this comes down to the relative need for support, and whether societal pressures play a part. If it’s less culturally acceptable for men to ask for help, there’s a risk they could be soldiering on in the dark, and making expensive mistakes.”