A third of Brits are set to prioritise watching sport over sorting their finances; here’s how to do both

With a third of Brits set to prioritise watching sport over sorting their finances, Canaccord Wealth shares tips on how to do both

As the nation is poised to enjoy a jam-packed weekend of sport – with the British and Irish Lions facing Australia on Saturday and the Women’s Euros Final taking place on Sunday – a timely study from Canaccord Wealth reveals where our priorities lie when it comes to managing our time.

Despite one in three Brits (33%) feeling constantly time poor and more than one in ten (11%) saying they don’t have enough time for financial planning, people are spending an average of 13 hours watching sport this summer – with 20% watching 20 hours plus.

Over half (56%) of people say they are set to watch multiple sporting events this summer – and more than one in five (22%) anticipate their summer sporting viewing habits will directly impact their financial planning or management.

Summer of sport makes the trade-off clear

Sport appears to be the ultimate winner when it comes to what people will make time for. The majority (68%) of people say they will make time to watch their favourite team this summer, with 58% of women in this camp too. Almost a third (30%) expect to lose hours, or even days, to follow the sporting action and 29% of people are prepared to cancel other plans to do so.

Despite this, less that one in ten – 8%- said they’d use the gift of time, an extra hour in their day, to spend on managing their finances.

David Goodfellow, Head of Wealth Planning at Canaccord Wealth said: “Our insights show almost two thirds of us don’t spend as much time managing our wealth as we would like to. Yet, despite many of us claiming to have no time, it’s often not about having more time, but rather using the time we have wisely. Often starting a task is the hardest part, but by dedicating time to finances, just a fraction of what we spend watching sport, we could become a nation of financially savvy supporters.” 

“This weekend, half-time in the Lionesses final, could be all the time you need to review your pensions. And, you could end the game feeling not just better about the result, but also more on the front foot with your finances. There are a few simple things we can all do to help us enjoy sport and stay on track.” 

Tips from Canaccord Wealth to help people plan their wealth with confidence include:

• Meet with a Financial Advisor – set up a meeting to map long-term financial goals and identify the actions to be taken to achieve them
• Take changing circumstances into account – regularly check and update your financial plan to ensure it remains relevant to your circumstances e.g. receiving inheritance or splitting up from a long-term partner
• Track down your pensions – identify and consolidate your pensions to have an up-to-date figure on your current pension amount
• Plan for passing on your wealth – revisit and update your will regularly, to ensure your intentions for passing on your wealth are reflected

Methodology 

Consumer research was conducted by Censuswide on behalf of Canaccord from 25th June 2025 to 3rd July 2025. A nationally representative sample of 2345 adults across the UK participated in the survey, including a sample of 500 high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs).