A new study from the BBC shows that looking after money isn't easy. Over 109,000 people took part in the BBC's Big Money Test. It was one of the biggest ever studies on the psychology of money. One of the biggest findings is that money makes many people feel bad. Researchers say over 40 per cent of us always worry about spending money; a third of us constantly worry about money; and the same percentage feel guilty when spending money on themselves. The study found that women like to go shopping to make themselves feel better about life, while men are more likely to save their cash. Women are more generous with their money and are also more likely to suffer from money problems.

The researchers also looked at ways shops try and make us spend our money. It showed how stores are continually looking at new ways to make us buy things on impulse. It asks why candies and chocolate are always by the checkout in supermarkets; why "everyday essentials like bread and milk are at the back of shop so you have to walk through as many aisles as possible to reach them;" and why the perfume and jewellery sections are always at the front of a department store. The test says that buying things on impulse can be bad for our finances: "People who bought goods impulsively were three times more likely to go bankrupt, and four times more likely to run out of money by the end of the week."