In amongst all of the turbulence, however, one positive thing to have been brought to the foreground this year has been a growing openness for people to talk about things that would have been out of bounds not so long ago. Suddenly, conversations about politics and the economy are springing up all over the place, whether at the kitchen table, the classroom, or the water cooler, and that can only be a good thing.

Through our latest research, we wanted to find out whether this new-found willingness to talk extends to the one topic that has always been considered taboo: money.

Is the tide turning?

Financial issues have traditionally been seen as inappropriate for British families to discuss even amongst close friends or family, but we spoke to over 2,000 people about their attitudes towards ‘money talk’ and discovered that a quarter of families are now spending, on average, over 21 extra hours thinking and talking about money than they were six months ago.

When asked to explain why, the most common responses were that thinking and talking about money more often makes people better savers, and that by sharing ideas with one another they are able to find better deals on their finances. This is really encouraging to see, and we are delighted that people are realising the positive impact talking about money can have on their finances.

Demographic divisions

So, could it be that a new era of money talk is upon us? Our research certainly suggests that a more open attitude is swelling up through the younger generations, with 18-34 year olds almost doubling the amount of time they spend thinking and talking about money in the last six months alone. In contrast, however, those aged 55 and over spend an average of just over one hour per week talking about money, indicating a concerning gap opening up across the generations.

In addition, whilst southern families spend over an hour and a half discussing money each week, the results aren’t as strong for northern families, who spend an average of an hour and 17 minutes per week on the subject. So, whilst the picture is improving across the UK, there is clearly still some way to go before the whole of Britain feels fully comfortable talking about money.

Festive spending

With Christmas fast approaching, our research also revealed that a third of British families are planning to utilise their savings to cover the cost of the festive season. Furthermore, the families who have improved their saving efforts in the last year have boosted their nest eggs by an impressive average of £750 per year. We welcome the news that so many families are putting more money away than they were 12 months ago and securing their financial future in this way.

So, the outlook is bright for money talk. Still, we would urge families across the UK to make a start on those financial conversations, no matter how big or small and no matter how uncomfortable they may be at first, and to keep them going so we can see even more openness in the future.

Jean-Louis Labauge is CEO of RCI Bank UK. Read more about him here.