Financial information firm Markit, said according to the Household Finance Index, people still believe their household finances are deteriorating, suggesting that the majority remain in a financially precarious position.

Household Finances Deteriorating

As a society, we have spent the last four and a half years seeing people we know, if not ourselves, being made redundant, lose homes or putting food back on the shelf in the local supermarket because they can’t afford everything in their trolley.

Markit also identified a growing loss of confidence in job security in the individuals they surveyed implying the constant exposure to the economic climate is beginning to penetrate the public’s psyche.

Research by the Payments Council confirms that one in five people find their daily to do list so long that it plays on their mind almost all of the time – with 14% admitting they lose sleep over it.  A further 1.8 million people confirmed they worry so much that it makes them feel ill.

Financial road to recovery?

However, the Markit study does not read only of doom and gloom. The research found that although household finances have a long road to recovery and may still be squeezed in many cases, we are making small improvements.

Perceptions surrounding our finances are still leaning towards the apprehensive, but have shifted more positively to a level equal to our 2010 sentiments. We can cast our 2010 slightly improved perceptions over our 2013 circumstances.

What do you think?

I would argue that is due in part to our adaptation to our financial surroundings. Slowly but surely we have begun to manage our money.

As the climate has evolved we have had to evolve with it, adapting our spending habits and adhering to clear budgets, honing a financial awareness that enables households to intelligently manage expenditure.

Could this represent the marginal swing in perception?