Put yourself in the mindset of a young person. It’s very hard to prioritise your savings. You want to get a mortgage (like your parents did) but nowadays you need a deposit somewhere in the region of £10,000 plus to consider it (4 or 5 years hard saving?). Redundancies are becoming frequent, and after seeing it happen to a few of your friends, saving for an emergency fund suddenly seems a lot higher up on the list.

You are aware of your large student debt, which didn’t bother you when you signed up, but now that you are working (and earning less than you anticipated) it hangs over you. And one day you’ll get old and want to retire, one day… but it seems a long way off. In between which you expect to get married (and maybe divorced), buy a house or two, have a couple of kids, take a few exotic holidays… after all, your parents managed it.

But the figures don’t add up. It’s all pretty overwhelming, it gives you a headache. So you plan a night out with your friends to ease your mind. And get criticised by the older generation for seeking ‘instant gratification’.

Gail Johnstone, Communications Executive, Friends Life