While I’ve no desire ever to return to lockdown life, I do want to hold on to some of the positive habits I developed during those long months – particularly when it comes to my finances and fitness levels.
Like many other people, I filled the time I’d previously spent frittering money in cafes and pubs with exercise. For the first time ever, I jogged regularly. It felt like a reprieve from sitting at home contemplating the grim events in the world. But, now that other, (more tempting, yet more expensive) pursuits are available, the prospect of a run feels less like luxury and more like punishment.
Indeed, scroll through my bank statements for April, without knowing that non-essential shops reopened on the 12th, and you’d think you were looking at Jekyll and Hyde’s joint account. The first two weeks indicate the spending habits of an ascetic. Food shopping. Movie streaming purchases. Otherwise … tumbleweed. The second two weeks, on the other hand, suggests the behaviour of a person unleashed: coffee, wine, coffee, knick-knacks, sandwiches, wine, coffee, coffee, coffee …
Of course, everyone’s individual circumstances will be different. But according to the Bank of England, the average UK household saved between £5,000 and £6,000 as a result of lockdowns that prevented us from going to pubs, restaurants and cafes or away on holidays.
So how might we hold on to all those good habits that many of us have formed?
Turn good behaviours into patterns
The first thing is to realise that some of these virtuous behaviours never constituted habits in the first place, says Benjamin Gardner, a senior lecturer in social and health psychology at King’s College London, who specialises in applying habit theory to understand and change behaviour.
“Although the word habit is used in everyday language to mean ‘things that we do often’, psychologists use it to mean ‘behaviours that are driven by associations’,” he says. These associations are built by repeating behaviours in specific settings. “Take going to the cinema and eating popcorn,” says Gardner. “Over time, you learn an association between entering the foyer, and wanting popcorn. Once you’ve acquired that association, an impulse is automatically activated.”
Yet in lockdown, every day looked the same. Without a strict schedule built around office hours or school runs, I exercised at odd moments. So while I was practising regular good behaviour, it was not in the pattern required to form a habit.
If we’re not to turn back into slobs, we need to move fast. Step one, says Gardner, is “to make sure we’re pairing these good behaviours with a situation we’ll continue to be in when the world goes back to normal”. Even better is: “To put that behaviour into an existing sequence.” For example, I could start inserting my jog into my morning routine, directly after brushing my teeth. Brushing would be my cue and the subsequent breakfast my reward.
Re-evaluate behaviours
“If people have tried a new behaviour in lockdown and got on well with it, then that’s good,” says Gardner. “Because even if their habit for doing it has been disrupted, they still know that they should and can do it, because they’ve succeeded before.”
The same might apply to our personal finances. The Institute for Fiscal Studies described the savings that UK households made last year as “forced”, since roughly a quarter of the average UK household’s typical spending went on things that, in lockdown, were simply not possible.
Yet, says Simonne Gnessen, founder of Wise Monkey Financial Coaching and co-author of Sheconomics: “It has been a unique opportunity for some people who have never consciously saved before. We’ve seen some of the ways we can cut spending without cutting out joy. Maybe we’ve realised that going for a walk with a friend can be just as pleasurable as going out for a drink.”
Alistair McQueen, head of savings and retirement at Aviva, points out that UK savings jumped from record lows before the pandemic to new highs. “It’s made many of us reflect on our financial habits. People will be asking themselves, do I need to spend money as I did in the past? Has instant gratification changed? The unknown answer is how will people behave now?”
A key issue is whether we can warm to behaviours that were previously forced upon us. Pondering this, McQueen notes that the experience of lockdown has given added weight to the popular dictum about saving for a rainy day: “In the last 10 years we’ve been hit by two once-in-a-century events – the financial crisis of 2008 and the pandemic. I think people are beginning to realise that the world isn’t as certain and stable a place as maybe we let ourselves believe. So there might be a new sense of comfort and security around saving.”
Make a plan
The first step when trying to create a savings habit is to put pen to paper, advises Gnessen. “Think about what your life is going to look like outside of restrictions. Note down what you’ve learned from this year and what you want to do differently as a consequence.”
Next: “Identify your triggers – the things that are going to tempt you back into bad habits – and rehearse what you’ll do when you encounter them.”
She also stresses the importance of involving those people who are involved in those decisions, such as partners and children. “Our own emotions can hijack good intentions, but other people’s expectations can too.”
Incentives can also be helpful. Behavioural economists use the phrase “mental accounting” to describe the irrational relationship we humans have with money – valuing and treating it differently according to wholly subjective factors such as its origin and intended use.
We can game this tendency within ourselves, suggests Gnessen. Creating different accounts for specific savings goals leaves you far less likely to plunder them, and more motivated to add to them. Some banks now allow you to name each account and even attach photos to them online (a desert island, hovering over your “holiday” account, could act as a visual trigger to put money aside).
Pick the right savings account
According to the Bank of England, 50% of UK cash savings are held in current accounts rather than a dedicated savings account. Of course, there are countless savings accounts to choose from – from those that give you instant access to your savings to fixed-term accounts that pay better interest but require you to give a period of notice before withdrawals.
The sheer number of options can be a cause of apathy and inertia.
McQueen says that’s one of the reasons Aviva launched a mobile platform that gives people access to a selection of different cash savings accounts from UK banks. The platform, which is called Aviva Save, allows users to switch their savings between different banks and accounts without having to apply separately each time or re-register their details.
“Aviva Save speaks to the unique situation that households find themselves in – a record boom in cash savings combined with record low interest rates, which means people are getting poor returns on those savings.”
Good habit formation involves making a choice. Meanwhile, maintaining positive habits involves making behaviours automatic so that you no longer have to think about them. The best way to break negative habits, Gardner suggests, is to associate new and positive behaviours with old cues. So here’s the plan. Pre-pandemic me associated finishing work on a Friday with heading to the pub. Instead, I’m going to head out for a jog first. Better for my body and, hopefully, my bank balance too.
To find out more, visit aviva.co.uk
