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Britons Relatively Downbeat on Personal Finances

Britons Relatively Downbeat on Personal Finances

by Raksha Arora

The past few years have brought significant economic change and upheaval to developed nations around the world, and the United States, Canada, and Great Britain are certainly no exceptions. How do the residents of each of these three countries feel about their own finances, as opposed to those in the nation as a whole?

Gallup Polls conducted in early April in the United States and late April/early May in Canada and Great Britain* showed that perceptions of nationwide economic conditions had improved considerably in Great Britain, while they had faltered in the United States and Canada (see "A Tale of Three Economies" in Related Items). But that good news for the British is tempered by the findings that both Americans and Canadians are more positive than Britons are about their personal financial situations.

Personal Finances

A slim majority of both Americans (51%) and Canadians (53%) rate their personal financial situations as either "excellent" or "good." Only 41% of Britons rate their situations in such positive terms.

Fifty-three percent of both Americans and Canadians say that their individual personal financial situations as a whole are getting better. Twenty-nine percent of Americans report their situations are getting worse, while 18% volunteer that their situations are remaining the same. Canadians (35%) are somewhat more likely than Americans to say their personal financial situations are getting worse. Eleven percent of Canadians report that their financial outlooks are staying the same.

In keeping with the lower ratings that Britons assigned to their current personal financial situations, their outlook for improvement is also more modest -- only 43% of Britons are optimistic enough to say that their personal financial situations are getting better. Forty-one percent of Britons say their situations are getting worse, and 15% say they are staying the same.

Looking at net optimism regarding personal financial situations (the percentage saying "getting better" minus the percentage saying "getting worse"), a similar picture emerges. Net optimism among Americans is +24, and in Canada, the corresponding number is +18. In comparison, the picture in Britain is more dismal -- the net optimism among Britons is only +2.

A List of Economic Concerns

Gallup also asked each country's residents to rate their level of concern with a series of personal financial issues. The majority in each of the three countries Gallup surveyed are "very worried" or "moderately worried" about "not having enough money for retirement" -- 59% of Canadians are either very or moderately worried about this issue, as are 57% of Britons and 52% of Americans. This is the only issue of the five rated in which a majority in any country was significantly worried. The next highest-ranking concern in all three countries is "not being able to maintain the standard of living you enjoy" -- an issue about which 48% of Canadians, 47% of Britons, and 39% of Americans express at least a moderate degree of worry.

*Results in the United States are based on telephone interviews with 1,000 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted May 2-4, 2004. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points. The survey was conducted by Gallup USA.

Results in Canada are based on telephone interviews with 1,003 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted April 28-May 4, 2004. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points. The survey was conducted by Gallup Canada.

Results in Great Britain are based on telephone interviews with 1,018 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted April 29-May 12, 2004. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points. The survey was conducted by Gallup UK.

In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.


Gallup https://news.gallup.com/poll/12001/Britons-Relatively-Downbeat-Personal-Finances.aspx
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