Debt: it’s all in the mind

Cataracts, a bad back or stomach ulcer are all legitimate topics of conversation.

But if someone brings up their mental health it can lead to staring at shoes, awkward silences and even scepticism.

This attitude can operate at a business as well as a personal level. Hence someone with a physical disease can find it much easier to get sympathetic treatment than someone with a mental health problem.

I have seen too many cases when banks and other organisations can be very unwilling to take mental health problems seriously when dealing with debt.

But there is a clear connection between mental health and money difficulties, as a report, Money on Your Mind, published by the new Money and Mental Health Policy Institute makes clear.

Of those interviewed for this report, 93 per cent said mental health problems led them to spend more than usual.

Almost as many – 92 per cent – said they find it harder to make financial decisions during periods of poor mental health.

It is a matter of record half of British adults with a debt problem also have a mental health problem.

Half of British adults with a debt problem also have a mental health problem.

While this report deals mainly with debt, it must not be forgotten that pensions, savings and investments built up over many years could be squandered during a period of poor mental health.

We, the public, are often very poorly educated about mental health problems and their consequences. Challenges can come in many guises including dementia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), bipolarism, depression or substance dependence.

I know it can be difficult for the families of people with ADHD or who are bipolar, to convince their bank there is a problem – or to get them to respond at all.

Financial advisers and institutions such as banks can face confidentiality issues. They have a relationship with their client not with their client’s parents, siblings or friends.

The Court of Protection is a last resort, and not something that would figure in the vast majority of cases – yet that does not mean the issue should be ignored or overlooked as it often is.

So I am pleased to see Moneysavingexpert’s Martin Lewis has thrown his weight behind this issue by becoming chairman of the Mental Health Policy Institute.

He is, without doubt, the most recognised financial commentator and carries weight where it matters.

Hopefully, his attention will focus not only on financial institutions, but also on those who help drag people into debt, such as the betting firms whose advertisements saturate the breaks in sports programmes.

I myself have personal experience of a depressed friend who gambled away thousands at the touch of a button on his phone. So I know this is an important campaign.

There is now a significant voice highlighting mental health and financial issues.

It is only when we understand and discuss these problems we can begin to ensure they are addressed in a more practical and sympathetic manner.

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Time will tell if I was right to hold

By the time you read this, you may well have cast your EU referendum vote. But as I write this, both the stock market and currency markets are falling amid nerves.

My wife has been telling me I should sell for several weeks – and I am beginning to think she was right. After all, the potential downsides of staying invested are rather greater than the upsides when you are close to retirement and the only certainty is uncertainty.

But, mug that I am, I have hung on.

Whatever the result, it is a very useful time to be a financial adviser. Like the rest of us, you may not know the answers, but at least you can provide some soothing words.

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Don’t bank on mum and dad

Pensioner property wealth now stands at £926bn, according to equity release specialist Key Retirement.

That is an awful lot of cash tied up in bricks and mortar – and an awfully good reason for family squabbles when the owners die.

There is definitely a feeling among some people they have a right to inherit every last penny of equity built up in their parents’ properties.

And it can come as a surprise to discover mum and dad had other ideas and opted to spend some of their money.

So it is hardly surprising many lenders remain cautious of moving into equity release.

It is also why it must remain tightly regulated – because such regulation is likely to provide the main protection to lenders when disgruntled relatives come knocking.