Mobiles and Money Linked

Your attitude to your mobile phone is linked to how you view your finances, a new report reveals.

While the effect of owning a mobile on your money becomes obvious every time you receive a bill or top-up your talktime, the connection between phones and bank balances goes far deeper than that.

"The way we use mobile phones varies depending on our age, lifestyle and personality, as does our behaviour with money. And as access to our money is, to a great extent, governed by technology, our mobile phone habits will often say a lot about the way we handle our finances," said leading psychologist Donna Dawson.

As such, Lloyds TSB commissioned a report into the way mobile use reflects money management.

The report discovered that the UK's 50 million mobile phone users can be split into four main categories.

• Standoffish - this group sees their mobile as something required to keep in touch, but resent it for seemingly controling their lives. Standoffish people are fans of internet banking, and check their account weekly to stay in touch.


• Slapdash people see their phone as essential for work, but are disorganised and often miss calls or forget to charge their handset. They are equally hit and miss about their money, occasionally picking up a mini-statement, but running out of money quicker than they think.


• Reluctant people think a mobile is not essential, but grudgingly admit it makes life easier. They prefer to keep a running total of their bank balance in the back of their cheque book, and worry if they are in debt - preferring to go without than to borrow.


• With it people could not live without their mobile, they see themselves as modern and streetwise. Often "in the red", they are reluctant to check their account.

Paul O?Neill from Lloyds TSB commented: "There?s no denying the connection between the way we relate to our mobile phones and the way we manage our money but the connection isn?t always a positive one."

However, money and mobiles are now linked more closely than ever before, with the majority of high-street banks now having a text-alert service sending mini-statements to your handset.

To find out what your mobile phone habits say about your financial management skills visit www.lloydstsb.com/youfirst/mobilequiz.asp