Less than two in five (38%) UK adults would turn to a financial adviser for advice on their finances, according to a new report.

This compares to 43% who would look to consumer finance websites, according to LV=’s latest Wealth and Wellbeing report.

One in five 18-34 year olds said they would use YouTube for financial advice, and 29% would look to family and friends.

However, those who had taken financial advice saw a clear benefit. Almost 9 in 10 (86%) of those who had taken financial advice said they saw benefits to the advice that they received. Over half (51%) said their financial advice had helped decide the best course of action, and 43% said the advice had helped them understand the decision they were making.

A fifth (20%) of those who would not use a financial adviser said they wanted advice to be free and online.

The latest Wellness tracker showed that 42% of UK adults are currently struggling financially, indicating that the nation’s financial resilience is much lower than three years ago.

Over one in four (27%) UK adults said that just paying bills has been a challenge over the past three years, while a third (32%) had helped friends and family to make ends meet in the first half of 2023.

David Hynam, chief executive at LV=, said: “More and more people face a choice between paying their bills, putting food on the table and saving for the future. The fact that families and friends are helping each other through the ongoing cost–of-living crisis shows that our community bonds are still strong, but it should concern us all that people are having to withdraw future savings to meet today’s costs.”

LV= surveyed 4,000 nationally representative UK adults online in June 2023.