NORFOLK MUMS KNOW BEST IN THE CREDIT CRUNCH!

At a time when it is more important than ever to make sure your finances are shipshape, 21% of people in Norfolk would prefer to seek money advice from their parents or family members than from a financial adviser.

Norwich and Peterborough Building Society has offered an Independent Financial Advice service since October 2003, and asked people of all ages where they would go to get various types of advice.

N&P asked where people would go for advice on health, car and money issues, giving the options of parent/family, partner, friend, colleague, industry professional (doctor, mechanic or financial adviser), the Internet, TV/newspaper/ magazines, or other.

When asked where they would get advice for a health issue, 80% of people in Norfolk said they’d go and see a doctor or health professional. For a problem with their car, 77% of people would take it to a mechanic, but for advice about money matters, a noticeably lower 66% said they would see a financial adviser.

Of the 37% of people who completed the survey and had never seen a financial adviser before, the main reason why not (without prompting) was that they felt they’d never had the need (57%). Other reasons given were that they didn’t have enough money to warrant seeing an adviser (11%), they thought they were too young to need to (6%), didn’t have the time (5%), thought advice would be too expensive (4%), and that they preferred to manage their finances themselves (4%).

Sarah Birmingham, N&P’s Sales and Service Manager for Norwich, commented: “Many people still seem to only associate financial advisers with investments, but our financial planners can offer help and advice on a much wider range of areas. Everyone should be checking that their life protection needs, pension arrangements, investments and wills are up to date and in the best possible place.”