2009: The Worst Year Ever?
How has the year been for you? It?s certainly been a strange one in terms of finance, we?ve seen experts telling us we?re going to rise out of the recession and then telling us that we probably aren?t, we?ve had a lower VAT rate for the whole year for the first time in a long while and we?ve been told that the banks actually are allowed to charge whatever they like in terms of overdrafts, so if nothing else it?s been an interesting 12 months.
However, one in twenty people have described this year as being the worst year ever, and half said they were worried about debt and money problems. Others also said the last year has been generally bad for them, and the Samaritans have asked people to try to not let their financial problems get the better of them.
The rather depressing poll of around 2,000 people found that after money problems, relationships with family and friends was the next biggest worry, while health concerns, job security and workplace stress round off the top 5 biggest worries of the UK.
Chief Executive of the Samaritans, Catherine Johnstone said: ?In the last year, we received five million calls and many of them were about the worries identified in this survey, with approximately one in every ten calls linked to financial stress.?
“Sharing your troubles can be a huge relief and is often the first step to finding a way of coping with the challenges that life throws at all of us.”
Looking back, has 2009 been a good or bad year for you, financially or otherwise? According to the poll only 18% of respondents said that 2009 was actually a good year!