NEWS COPY – WITH VIDEO - https://we.tl/1tJaHg06nA
By Rob Knight
The average Brit spends the best part of £150K on socialising during their lifetime, according to a study.
Research revealed the typical UK adult will enjoy 3,239 social engagements during their adult years, including 159 birthday parties, 1,975 nights out with pals and 1,105 work get-togethers.
Nights out with friends are the biggest expense – totalling £71,500 – and £29,100 goes on spending time with colleagues from work.
It also emerged we spend a total of one year, five months and three days hanging out with mates.
Clare Francis, savings and investments director at Barclays, which carried out the study of 2,000 UK adults, said: “Social occasions can be a considerable drain on your finances and if you’re not careful, the cost can get out of control.
“There is a tendency among Brits to spend a lot of money when they go out with friends, but it’s not always necessary.
“There are lots of ways to spend quality time with friends without breaking the bank – why not spend an afternoon in the park – or take a trip to a free museum or an art gallery.”
During a typical adult lifetime, Brits will spend £27,500 on taxis purely for social purposes – making 1,230 journeys in the process.
Another £4,000 goes on friend’s parties over the same period and £7,000 is spent on birthday and Christmas presents for close pals – an average of £17.94 per gift.
The research also revealed 77 per cent of the population have been on holiday with friends – and on average they have been away six times, spending as much as £555 each time.
Forty-six per cent of the population admit being popular is “important” to them and 53 per cent believe they are just that – popular.
Although a fifth said “saving money” is more important to them than spending time with mates and one in ten have fallen out with a friend over money.
Around one fifth splash the cash when it comes being the “life and soul” because they don’t want their friends to think they are tight with money.
The study carried out by OnePoll also found one in ten UK adults occasionally spend more money than they planned to - because they worry they’d be missing out otherwise.
And 13 per cent revealed they feel peer pressure to spend more readily than they’d really like to.
Two in five have had to dip into their savings in order to pay for social occasions, while 37 per cent admit they struggle to save money because they want to go out and do things with pals.
Clare Francis said: “This research demonstrates the impact that peer pressure and FOMO can have on people’s finances, but popularity doesn’t need to come at a cost.
“For anyone feeling under pressure to overspend, take the time to consider whether you’d rather be putting that money towards your financial goals.
“True friends will be considerate when you say you can’t afford something, and there are always cheaper alternatives when it comes to having a good time.
“Voicing your concerns now could make a big difference to your finances in the long term, as there is no time like the present to start saving for your future.”
POPULARITY SPENDS:
- Nights out with friends: 1,975 – costing: £71,500
- Work nights out: 1,105 – costing: £29,100
- Taxi journeys: 1,230 – costing: £27,500
- Friend’s parties: 159 – costing: £4,000
- Friend’s birthdays and Christmases: 390 – costing: £7,000
- Holidays: six – costing: 3,330
Total: 142,430
For advice on different ways to save visit: http://www.barclays.co.uk/savingsgoals
ENDS
