With world leaders coming clean about the state of the global financial system, a leading psychologist is claiming that now is the perfect time for the rest of us to confess our own financial misdemeanours and stop being in denial about our finances.
The AXA research unearthed deceptions ranging from fibbing about the size of your pay packet to concealing the purchase of luxury items. One man confessed to emptying his children's savings account and pretending the cash was a bonus. The bonus had actually been cancelled.
Hundreds of confessions have already been posted to www.axa.co.uk/mybudgetday, including:
* "I spent £70 on a pot of face cream and decanted it into an Oil of Olay bottle!"
* "I lied to my partner about my earnings because he wanted to live off my income."
* "I invested in a company to get a job there. It went bust but I never told my husband I'd put money into the firm."
Psychologist, Andrew Kinder says; "In the current climate, concealing expensive purchases or unwise investments from those closest to us is likely to exacerbate the problem. Coming clean can provide just the emotional spur we need to review all aspects of our income, expenditure and savings. This is the worst possible time to be in denial about your finances.
"Unburdening your financial transgressions, even anonymously, can be a crucial first step to taking better control. There is often much more behind a deception, even a relatively trivial one. You tend to find that when people make a confession they're much better able to deal with these underlying problems."
The AXA study found that people are far more likely to lie about sex and money than they are about anything else,. But not all deceptions are to be condemned. Many people lie in order to prevent loved ones from worrying or to remove temptation to spend unwisely.
The biggest deceivers are in the 25 - 44 year old bracket, with 44 per cent confessing to financial falsehoods. The over 55s are the most honest with fewer than one in four confessing to dishonesty.
"In the current financial turmoil, people may be tempted to conceal the truth about their financial situation," said Alison Green of AXA, "but they are only deceiving themselves.
"With harsh times ahead, people are likely to be in an ongoing cycle of panic and denial. Now is the ideal time to come clean and kick-start a more proactive approach to managing your cash and planning for the future, so you are better placed to weather the storm"
AXA begins a campaign today to encourage people to confess their financial sins and use the experience as the first step to getting a better grip on their finances.
The call comes just nine days ahead of My Budget Day, the focal point of AXA's campaign to get everyone into the habit of spending an hour a month - just 15 minutes a week - reviewing and managing their finances.
Last year, an estimated 250,000 people participated in the inaugural My Budget Day. This year's My Budget Day takes place on November 20th. A new suite of financial planning tools have been developed this year to help people manage their finances better through the impending recession, and beyond.
