But a new study has revealed that middle-aged Brits worry far more about their looks than their bank balances.
The findings come from a survey by Friends Reunited about what people worry about when they meet up with old classmates after a gap of at least 10 years.
Steve Pankhurst, co-founder of Friends Reunited, said: "There's nothing like meeting up with old friends to make you evaluate how you've done in life.
"We wanted to find out what goes through people's heads in the minutes before they step into a roomful of people they haven't seen for a decade or more. Do they worry more about their bank balances or their hairlines? Are they more concerned about having had an interesting working life or a brood of children?"
The results offer a fascinating insight into the midlife crisis and what aspects of life are most important to people as they grow older.
Only a third of those surveyed said they felt 'confident and relaxed' about the idea of attending a reunion, with most feeling 'apprehensive' at best.
Asked what concerned them most, both men and women overwhelmingly put their looks before any other consideration. The sexes were again in agreement over what bothered them most about their looks, putting 'weight gain' in first place ahead of 'signs of ageing' and their 'clothes sense'.
After their looks, men's second biggest concern about how they'd come across was 'not being married or settled down with a family'. By comparison, women's secondary worry was 'not having done anything interesting' with their lives.
Women named the 'lack of a family' issue as their third greatest concern. Meanwhile, men put 'not having an interesting job' as their third worry.
The fourth concern for women was the 'uninteresting job' and for men the 'uninteresting life'.
Concern about 'the amount of money I make' was in a distant fifth place with both sexes.
The survey went on to find out what the experience of meeting up with old friends was actually like and whether people's concerns about how they would come across were valid.
Asked what people exaggerate most about themselves at reunions, the results were fascinating. Some 90% said they exaggerated their 'general happiness level'. Second in the list of exaggerations was the number of partners they'd had, followed by their salary level, job description, places they'd been on holiday and the kind of car they drive.
Encouragingly, four out of ten people said they felt better about their lives after attending the reunion. Around half said they felt the same as before, but only two per cent said they felt worse.
The worry about looks was mostly unfounded. Two thirds said their friends looked 'as expected'. Around a quarter said they looked older than expected. Only one in ten said they looked younger.
But in the end, most people seem to have had a positive experience. Only four per cent said their old friends 'didn't seem to like me any more'. Nearly 90 per cent of reunion goers said they had rekindled old friendships and 16 per cent made new friends.
Pankhurst said: "The reunion experience appears to confirm that in the greater scheme of things, money isn't so important.
"I don't think we should be too concerned that people seem so worried about their looks, ahead of things like fulfilment and family. It is after all the first thing you notice when meeting up after a long absence. And, as the survey shows, we normally look 'exactly the same'."
Friends Reunited was launched in October 2000 by North London based husband and wife team Julie and Steve Pankhurst so that people could get in contact with their old school friends. A combination of word of mouth and immense media attention has propelled the site to phenomenon status, expanding beyond the school friends proposition to include workplaces, teams/clubs and streets. The site has over 11 million members, representing 42% of the adult internet population in the UK.
1. The way I look (21.4%) 2. Not being married/settled down with a family (5.2%) 3. Feeling I don't have an interesting job (3.8%) 4. Not having done anything interesting with my life (3.8%) 5. The amount of money I make (1.9%)
Women 1. The way I look (45.4%) 2. Not having done anything interesting with my life (9.0%) 3. Not being married/settled down with a family (3.6%) 4. Feeling I don't have an interesting job (2.2%) 5. The amount of money I make (1.7%)
Friends Reunited can be found at www.friendsreunited.co.uk
For case studies or to receive more information about Friends Reunited and the School Friendship League Tables please contact Carolynne Bull-Edwards or Victoria Reed on 01883 717468 / 01883 724358 or email press@friendsreunited.co.uk