Around 40% of Scottish adults are not in control of their finances, a new study has found.

The Money Advice Service and the UK Financial Capability Board have published the findings of comprehensive research into Scotland's ability and attitudes to managing money.

It found that around 40% of adults in Scotland are not in control of their finances, due to not knowing their current account balance, not feeling their approach to budgeting works or struggling with bills.

The study found 37% of people in Scotland do not know their bank balance within £50. It also found less than a third of people in Scotland have financial goals and plans to achieve them.

The survey was conducted amongst over 1,100 people across Scotland. In common with findings from the rest of the UK, Scots were found to have a "live for today" attitude with few being prepared for financial shocks.

The Money Advice Service found that 30% of people in the UK felt pressured to spend more than they could afford over the festive period and as a result January sees a surge in debt advice enquiries.

Commenting on the findings, Allison Barnes, Scotland manager at the Money Advice Service, said: "It is worrying to see that many Scottish adults are not confident managing their money and failing to deal with issues around debt.

"However, the findings do show that Scots are marginally more in control of their finances and prepared for potential difficulties than the rest of the UK.

"We are making good progress in Scotland and have recently announced our continuation of free debt advice provision through the Scottish Legal Aid Board.

"The Financial Capability Strategy will make sure that product providers, charities, Government and all other third parties are working towards a shared ambition to better support people with their day-to-day financial needs."

Scottish Government minister for housing and welfare, Margaret Burgess, said: "While it is encouraging to see people living in Scotland are above the UK average when it comes to keeping track of money and managing their credit cards, there are still many financially vulnerable people who need the right advice to balance their budgets.

"The Scottish Government wants to remove the barriers that exist to managing money and increase the financial capability of people in Scotland."