- Brits spend £1,093.90 on treats for themselves each month despite only having £371.30 of disposable income
- The most expensive purchases include holiday travel, running a car and home improvements
- 16% admit to being wreckless with money at times
BRITS ARE struggling to save for the future due to overspending on guilty pleasures, including holiday travel, owning a car and making home improvements.
A survey of 1,000 UK adults by a leading personal insolvency practice, Creditfix.co.uk, published in The UK Spending Report, has lifted the lid on the UK’s overspending, revealing that each month adults spend £722.60 more than the average person’s disposable income allowance.
According to the data, the average UK adult spends £1,093.90 each month on treats and non-essential items, despite only having £371.30 in disposable income.
The most expensive temptation has been revealed as holiday travel with Brits typically spending £168.86 on this each month. In second place was owning and running a car which sets adults back £143.65 each month, followed by home improvements at a monthly cost of £84.66.
Gadgets and tech came fourth on the list of biggest guilty spending pleasures at a cost of £78.98 per month. Completing the top five was attending events such as music concerts, theatre or sporting events, as Brits typically spend £75.73 on this per month.
When quizzed on the reason why they spend, almost a third (29%) say they love buying gifts for friends and family while 1 in 10 say they treat themselves to new things because they want to be stylish.
16% of those surveyed admit they can be wreckless with money at times but 1 in 5 believe it’s important to treat yourself to nice things.
Taylor Flynn, head of marketing at Creditfix, comments: “A worrying number of Brits are massively overspending on non-essential items, looking for that immediate gratification rather than saving for the future. Whilst it’s definitely healthy to treat yourself to nice things once in a while, spending on treats and luxuries does need to be moderated to avoid nasty financial surprises at the end of the month.
“The fact that the average British adult is spending £722.60 more than their disposable income budget each month is a big cause for concern and suggests more needs to be done to curb overspending and educate the public on the dangers or overindulgence.”
With over 70 years’ experience between their insolvency practitioners in the financial industry, Creditfix has successfully helped over 141,000 people with their debt over the years which has led to them becoming one of the most experienced in the market. Creditfix Limited is one of the largest personal insolvency practices in the UK, servicing Scotland, England, Wales and Norther Ireland.
Top 10 Monthly Guilty Pleasure Expenses
- Holiday travel – £169
- Owning and running a car – £144
- Home improvements – £85
- Gadgets and tech – £79
- Events (concerts, sports, theatre, etc) – £76
- Restaurants and takeaways – £74
- Home décor – £73
- Hobbies (music lessons, gym, sports clubs, etc) – £70
- Drinks and nights out – £68
- Clothes and shoes – £65