Back in 2005, a simple press release* first identified the third Monday in January as the most depressing day of the year. It was ‘backed up’ by a scientific equation that looked at a basket of things: our levels of personal debt, how long we travel to work, the days since our New Year’s resolutions fell away, and so on.

Based on this formula Monday 21 January 2019 is likely to be regarded as ‘the most depressing day’ of the year, or Blue Monday, as it has become known.

Is it true? Well, it probably varies from person to person, but what it does remind us to do is to take stock and explore options should we have any health or money worries, and that can be a powerful thing to start a New Year.

With money worries being one of the largest wellbeing challenges facing members of the Police family today, it can be tempting to opt for easy, quick-fix options when it comes to finance. Taking on further borrowing can lead to spiralling debt, difficulty in making repayments and vastly increasing stress levels.

The stress of dealing with financial pressures does not just affect your personal life. It can affect your work, family life, health and relationships. We recognise that sharing your concerns with the people closest to you isn’t always an option.

Taking positive steps to address things that are weighing upon our minds is always important and here at Police Mutual we have teamed up with PayPlan who are an independent, FREE, debt management company. If you are in serious financial difficulties they can offer free support to help you regain control of your finances.

So if money troubles are something you are experiencing then why not use Blue Monday as a prompt to get some help and guidance.

PayPlan is a trading name of Totemic Limited. Company No. 02789854. Totemic Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Police Mutual Assurance Society Limited, trading as Police Mutual, is an incorporated friendly society. Registered office: Alexandra House, Queen Street, Lichfield, Staffordshire, WS13 6QS. Authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority

* Cliff Arnall for Sky travel.  Find out more at Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Monday_(date)