What's on your bucket list?

- 22 million people in the UK have created a bucket list
- Travelling the world appears on the list for over half of people
- Great Barrier Reef is the number one dream travel destination
- One in twelve make a bucket list because of serious illness

Research from Post Office Life Insurance reveals almost 22 million people in the UK (44 per cent)* have created a ‘bucket list’ – a dream list of things to do in life - with over half (53 per cent) of these people saying travelling around the world tops their dream to-do list.

Topping the list of dream destinations for globetrotters is the Great Barrier Reef (31 per cent), while over a quarter (27 per cent) want to head north to view the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights). Nearly one in five (19 per cent) say going on safari is on their must-do list. (see notes to editors for table of travel destinations)

Today’s bucket-list also features the more traditional goals such as buying a home (38 per cent), getting married (30 per cent) and having a baby (30 per cent). It seems these are now life-time aspirations rather than ‘run-of-the-mill’ life goals.

Learning a new language makes the list for a third of people (33 per cent), with a further three in 10 (29 per cent) dreaming of living in another country to experience a different culture for a period of time. Nearly one in five (19 per cent) people with a list are aspiring authors, hoping to write a novel one day. An adventurous eight per cent say travel into space is their dream.

The research also highlights a male / female divide. While travelling the world and buying a home appears in the top two for both, getting married is much more likely to be a life ambition for women (34 per cent) compared to men (26 per cent). The age-old tradition of men loving motors also lives on, with buying a dream car the third biggest aspiration for men (31 per cent), compared to tenth for women (24 per cent). (see notes to editors for table on differences)

Paul Havenhand, Head of Insurance at Post Office, said:“Devising a bucket list has become popular for those wanting to live their life to the full and it is fantastic people have so many varied and exciting life goals. It appears the UK is a nation of globetrotters, with travelling and living in another country high-up people’s dream to-do list. It’s interesting to see today’s bucket lists not only span more adventurous pursuits, but also include achieving more traditional life goals such as stepping onto the property ladder and getting married.”

However, despite these exciting plans it seems many feel the expense (72 per cent) and family obligations (22 per cent) are standing in the way of achieving their top life goals. Sixteen per cent say they are held back because they can’t get time off work to achieve ambitions (16 per cent), whilst 14 per cent say their job is too demanding.

The research also reveals half of those with a bucket list (50 per cent) created it because they want to live life to the full, and just under a third (29 per cent) did so to take control of their life. One in 12 (eight per cent) say a serious illness triggered them into action and a further six per cent say it was because of the death of a family member.

Paul Havenhand continued: “Whatever the reason for creating a bucket list, it seems many people are active about thinking about their lives and making sure they have fulfilled some life ambitions. Planning for the future is something we often don't do enough in our busy day-to-day lives.

“We know when making these plans about their future that life insurance is unlikely to be the first thing on people’s mind. However, this is exactly the right time to start thinking about the importance of financially protecting their loved-ones’ futures, secure in the knowledge that even if the worst were to happen there is always a safety net in place to protect those they hold dearest.”

*Research conducted by Opinium on behalf of the Post Office. 2,002 online interviews were conducted between 20th to 23rd August 2013. 44 per cent of 50,371,000 UK Adults 18+ (Estimated by Office for National Statistics) = 22,163,240

Top of the UK’s bucket list

* Table of top travel destinations

Post Office Limited has an unrivalled national network of over 11,500 branches across the UK, more than all the high street banks combined, and sits at the heart of many communities across the country. The Post Office has made a commitment to no more branch closure programmes. It provides around 170 different services and products spanning financial services including savings, insurance, loans, mortgages and credit cards. Post Office also offers Government services; telephony; foreign currency; travel insurance and mail services.

It serves around 20 million customers a week and half of all small businesses. 93% of the total population live within one mile of a post office and 99.7% within three miles. For many rural communities the post office is the only retail outlet. Post offices remain highly valued and trusted and are the focal point for many communities. For more information, visitwww.postoffice.co.uk

Con... - Carmel McCarthy