By David Field


Moving house, getting divorced and having a baby are three life events that regularly make the top five in polls of stressful events. Even though these life-changing events might be seen as positive and worthwhile (well, with divorce it depends which way you look at it), the stress involved can often make them pretty negative experiences. If this fills you with dread, looking into Savings Accounts can help in the long term.

Take moving house, for example. House-hunting from the start is a pain the backside, as you trudge around several unattractive houses, speaking to cheap-suited, greased up estate agents about the "huge potential" of the run-down hovel they're trying to sell you for more money than you'll ever earn in your life. And then there's moving day to organise, and whole rooms to pack up, and then, when you get there you have to unpack it all again.

But the real headache with moving is the huge financial costs that are involved. Rocketing house prices at the moment mean that the sums of money involved in buying or selling property are astronomical. First, there is a deposit to pay - typically tens of thousands of pounds. Then there are the admin fees, the stamp duty, and the mortgage deal that means you'll be paying the bank back for the rest of your life, just so you can have the privilege of 'owning' your own home. These financial difficulties make any decisions you make about moving all the more stressful.

And the same goes for divorce. There is of course the huge emotional upheaval that splitting from your long-term partner involves, but this seems to be made all the worse by the financial implications that divorce can have. Some recent research from money expert, for example, found that the average divorcing couple has to try and divide £230,000 worth of assets between them - that's a total of more than £32 billion a year. And while this might mean rich pickings for divorce lawyers, the financial stress for their clients is considerable. There are shared homes, shared bank accounts and shared pension arrangements to consider. And when you're used to relying on two people's incomes for financial security, divorce can mean real problems in terms of making ends meet.

Finally, having a baby is probably one of the most significant things you can do in your life and maybe even one of the most rewarding. Financially, though, it's widely regarded as a bit of a nightmare. A baby is literally another mouth to feed, as well as another person to clothe, and keep entertained. The costs involved with having a child are well-known.

So what's the solution to all this? One thing to get straight is that it's not worth denying yourself these experiences because of the financial issues involved. The secret instead is to simply be prepared, and be aware of your financial situation - don't let stress make you lose sight of your finances.

Interested in finding more about savings accounts? UK Net Guide's Savings Search can help!