While three in 10 people say their spending has disimproved since Covid-19 began, a similar number have actually improved their financial behaviours.
This is according to the latest Taxback.com Taxpayer Sentiment Survey of over 1,200 taxpayers, which found that 44 percent cited ‘saving’ when asked for their number one financial goal for 2022, while a further 20% said that they would budget properly.
The Taxback.com survey revealed that just 11 percent of people plan to be more proactive in terms of looking for better deals on insurance and in getting their tax back.
Speaking of the findings, Barry Cahill, Business Development Director at Taxback.com, noted that many individuals had made changes to their financial behaviours since the pandemic began.
“The feedback was really mixed – because while 7 in 10 (71% ) people said that they had made changes to their financial behaviours since the pandemic began – there was a split between those who are now better at money management and those who are worse.
What’s more, while saving appears to be a high priority for lots of people (44% ) in the new year, it’s a bit disheartening to learn that just 1 in 10 appear to want to be proactive when it comes to negotiating or sourcing better deals or claiming back money. Unnecessarily overspending and not claiming what people are owed have always been something the Irish consumer has grappled with.
Many people are simply unaware of the significant price differences on various products, or about tax relief or other benefits that they are entitled to avail of. Which is why it is up to the experts to highlight the many ways which people can cut their costs and save money without having to sacrifice.
For example, there are lots of ways people can claw back well-earned euros from the taxman through the huge range of tax reliefs that are out there. They won’t all apply to everyone, but there certainly are many common ones which will, such as medical expenses, tuition fees for third-level colleges, nursing home fees, flat-rate expenses, year of marriage relief, and the home carer tax credit," Mr Cahill stated.
The Taxback.com survey also found that just one in 10 (11 percent ) say they are focused on earning more money as a result of the pandemic.
“This is an interesting result in that it is so low. Perhaps, owing to the pandemic, more people are more focused on maintaining a better work life balance than they were before – perhaps it’s increasingly a case of ‘your health is your wealth’. However, while money certainly isn’t everything, the cost of goods and services is increasing at an alarming rate as inflation bites, so more people should be looking at their take home pay. If it hasn’t changed in a few years, then it’s likely that their standard of living is going backwards," Mr Cahill added.
Experts at Taxback.com say that the fact that so many people either want to save more (25 percent ) or watch what they spend to a greater extent (31 percent ) could come as a big worry to the Government and economists, as most suggest that we’re already saving too much.
“While many households have faced a real possibility that COVID-19 and the resulting economic havoc might leave them unable to pay their mortgages or deal with other major expenses, the amount that people have saved has boomed. The Government and many economists were hoping that this trend would reverse, and that people would start spending some of this record level of savings.
"However, the survey shows that saving even more appears to be the primary goal for 2022 for 2 in every 5 persons surveyed. Excessive saving over the long-term can work contrary to supporting economic growth and can even threaten it, so the Government might have to come up with some novel ways to entice people to keep their money in circulation rather than sitting in bank accounts – which at the moment are offering nothing by way of return," Mr Cahill concluded.
