Only three out of ten Britons claim they managed their money well during the past year.

Just 29 per cent said they had kept close track of their finances while 11 per cent admitted they had never checked the performance of any of their savings or investments.

Despite recent stock market volatility, only 14 per cent of those questioned had reviewed their savings and investments during the past three months, while 42 per cent said they did not have any savings to monitor, according research by Insight investment, the asset management arm of HBOS.

Nearly three-quarters of people aged between 16 and 19 do not have any savings or investments, and of those who do only two per cent had checked them in the past three months.

Older people were slightly more active money managers with 17 per cent claiming checking their savings during the past three months and 33 per cent checking them during the past year.

But despite people not taking an active interest in their finances, previous research showed they thought they would need to double their income during the next ten years to fund the lifestyle they wanted. On average, people wanted to have an income of £45,729, almost double the current average wage of £23,607.

David Norman, managing director of retail at Insight Investment, said: "People work hard for their money but are not so good at making their money work hard for them.

"They should sit down with a financial adviser and work out a plan that balances their borrowing, saving and investing needs over the long term."