Why you need to sleep, and your money needs to work

We've teamed up with personal finance expert, Kia Commodore to help give your money a kick up the backside so you can go ahead and sleep.

“Lazy Money” is what it says on the tin. It sits in our accounts doing absolutely nothing. Together with Cesnuswide, we polled 2,000 UK adults nationwide to see how their sleep affects their spending and whether or not they’re happy with the return they make on their money.

Turns out, not very happy.

With banks overcomplicating all things savings and charging unnecessary fees, the money people work hard for isn’t doing the same in return.

The word "finances" in itself is daunting to many people. But whether you're a numbers novice or a seasoned saver, doesn't matter. Financial stress, gaps in financial literacy and exhaustion touch everybody. It impacts the decisions we make when we reach for our wallets. Luckily, with every problem comes a solution.

So the A's we got from our surveys' Q's touch on these topics, and we'll help you get more at night with a few solutions that'll make it easier to hit your pillow in peace.

More on Lazy Money

Sleep deprivation and money

29.50% of respondents said they often make financial decisions when tired, with women reporting higher levels of exhaustion. This isn't surprising, given that 1 in 3 adults in the UK say they have poor sleep and don't get the recommended 7-9 hours of dozing digits in.

And when we sleep less, our mental and physical capabilities are affected—immunity, metabolism, decision-making abilities, mood, productivity, etc. A study conducted by Sci-Hub found that one extra hour of sleep alone enhanced productivity and led to a 1% increase in work earnings short-term, and a 5% increase in the long run.

People who get the recommended sleepy time are more likely to have savings down to energy and cognitive capacity. With 70% saved for university tuition, 63% for emergencies and 58% for retirement.

Sadly, struggling sleepers were more likely to struggle with their finances, too.

Financial stress and sleep

Sleep is a luxury for many people, and factors like burnout, caretaking responsibilities, working extra jobs, and mental health conditions make it harder to hit the hay. I recently wrote about how the symptoms of my ADHD got me into debt. One of those symptoms is insomnia, which 67% of people with ADHD have. My sleep problems meant I had more financial problems, and as the financial stress built up, my duvet dosing decreased.

A factor contributing to financial stress is, of course, inflation. 36.6% of our survey respondents said they now find it harder to save money, and 25.65% said they've felt the impact of inflation on their money. 12.40% didn't have savings, and 11.20% found the thinking about saving money stressful.

While there will always be external factors that are out of our control, there are a few things we can control and steps to make the unmanageable feel more manageable.

TLDR: Financial stress keeps people up and influences money decision-making. Fear not; there's a way to sleep while your money does the work.

Putting your money to work while you rest

• 22.25% of adults said they have enough time to make informed decisions about their savings
• 21.75% said they didn't believe they'd ever save enough money
• 51% are nervous about investing
• Only 16.25% trusted their banks to give them a fair rate on their savings.

When it comes to saving accounts, banks tend to limit the number of withdrawals you can make, reduce your transfer options, charge fees you don't know about, overcomplicate contractual language, have a minimum balance requirement and even keep you committed to binding contracts.

Another TLDR: You should be able to trust your payment provider to make your financial well-being their priority, their offering clear, and their services hurdle-free.

What people want from their payment providers

We asked our survey respondents what could be done to make it easier to understand savings and alleviate stress.

Here’s what they answered

Financial literacy and savings education in schools and communities - 31.70%

Easy-to-understand language in financial documents and disclosures - 31.15%

Clear communication around the different types of investment options available - 28.95%

Transparency around saving accounts rates from banks - 28.55%

Investing money could be made simpler - 26.50%

Workshops and resources on personal finance and savings could be made more widely available - 23.90%

Savings options could be better explained by the media - 21.20%

Where Wise comes in

Nothing hidden

We don't hide fees, and we don't charge more than we have to. Our goal is to make international transfers eventually free, and that mission is reflected throughout our products.

Clear communication

Our products and services are easy to use, our language is simple, our customer service team are a lovely bunch of people who're happy to help, and we keep everything transparent.

You relax, let your money work

Wise offer two investment products in the UK

Wise Stocks, which invests in an index tracking fund that tracks tracks the performance of the top 1,500 companies in the world - including Tesla, Apple, Microsoft.

And Wise Interest, which invests in a fund holding government-guaranteed assets and closely tracks the Central Bank interest rate - and currently pays a variable rate of 4.95% on GBP balances, 5.11% on USD and 3.62% on EUR.*

Wise’s investment features are particularly useful for people who manage multiple currencies. Wise allows instant access and for invested money to be withdrawn and converted into 40 currencies, with no hidden fees.

Another easy peasy way to make the most of your money is Wise Jars. Putting a little bit aside can make all the difference.

Create as many Jars as your heart desires for all your saving needs: holiday cash, money for a big bash, and outfits to make a splash.

Ultimately, Wise aims to ensure you get the best deal possible on your transfers, so we even have a competitor comparison button before you make a transfer. We'd rather lose you than you lose your money. It's all about trust.

And 16 million people from all over the world trust Wise with 10,000 new customers joining every week.

*Capital at risk. The fund has returned a 0.93% annual average in the UK over the last 5 years, excluding Wise fees. The current rates do not guarantee future growth and your return may increase or decrease. For the full 5 year past performance of the funds, please visit our website.

For more information on regioinal fees and information head to the Wise Fees & Pricing and Terms of Use pages.

Capital at risk. Growth not guaranteed. Wise Assets UK Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority with registration number 839689. When facilitating access to Wise investment products, Wise Payments Ltd acts as an Introducer Appointed Representative of Wise Assets UK Ltd. Please be aware that we do not offer investment advice, and you may be liable for taxes on any earnings. If you’re uncertain, we urge you to seek professional advice. To find out more about the Funds, visit our website.