The proverbial half-full or half-empty glass separates optimists from pessimists. Now a survey seeks to answer to what extent a person's attitude to life determines how successful they are financially.
Does a positive outlook on life affect personal finances? That was the main question of a survey conducted in Germany on behalf of a company that offers fee-based tax advice via an app.
The survey polled 2,000 people aged 18 and older who've filed a tax return at least once. The results seem clear, with optimists among the participants outnumbering the pessimists. According to the survey, 46 percent of respondents said they had a positive outlook on life.
More Worries
According to the «Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung» (in German), 44 percent described themselves as neutral and only 10 percent as pessimists. Among the people with a negative attitude, there are significantly more women than men, at 60 percent.
The pessimists were more concerned about financial issues, but at the same time were less active. Issues such as poverty in old age, financial dependency, or loss of housing were frequently mentioned as problems. They're also more concerned about social injustice.
Financial Health
According to the study's sponsor, the pessimists could learn a thing or two from the optimists. The latter are more active when it comes to investing money or making private provisions, and they save more often. More knowledge and control over one's financial affairs strengthened confidence in the future and could alleviate fears. Financial health is essential for well-being.
The survey was conducted by market research company Qualtrics on behalf of the European tax platform Taxfix. The latter thrives on more people taking their financial affairs actively into their own hands.
Causality or Correlation?
The question also arises as to whether the results should rather be evaluated according to causality or correlation aspects. Are pessimists less successful financially because of their attitudes, or do their circumstances shape their attitudes? This is a classic chicken-and-egg problem.
Are low-income and older people more afraid of old-age poverty because they are pessimists, or because they simply do not have the means to make private provisions? Perhaps such people are more likely to be realists who can assess their situation.
The Women's Financial Question
Results by gender could be at least partially explained from this point of view. Women's average incomes are statistically clearly lower, as are their pensions.
The gender pay gap in Germany in 2022 was 18 percent. The average salary for women was 3,609 euros gross per month compared with 4,385 euros for men.
In Switzerland, these figures were 6,594 francs for women in 2020 compared with around 8,193 francs for men, representing a pay gap of 19.5 percent.
