Real Accounts

Real Accounts is a long-term study of UK households’ financial lives, using first hand stories and digital transaction tracking to build an in-depth, in-the-moment understanding of households’ income, spending and money management strategies over time.

Launched in spring 2023, the Real Accounts project is led by Nest Insight in collaboration with the Centre for Personal Financial Wellbeing at Aston University and Yunus Centre for Social Business and Health at Glasgow Caledonian University, with support from the Aviva Foundation.

At the moment, too little is known about how low- to moderate-income households across the country manage their money or the strategies they use to deal with changes to their income, the rising cost of living, and unexpected expenses that come up in day-to-day life. We’ll combine first-hand stories with real-time transaction information to build a long-term picture of households’ experiences, decision making and diverse financial approaches.

Outputs: Real Accounts: a long-term study of UK households' financial lives – Nest Insight Unit

Research Spotlight

Partners: Nest Insight, Yunus Centre for Social Business and Health

Team: Hayley James, Alexus Davis and Andy Lymer