Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
New research reveals 12.7 million adults (a quarter of the population) have spent more than £200 in the last 12 months trying to keep up with the spending habits of friends and family.
On average across the country, adults spent £165 trying to match up to their friends’ lifestyles, equating to over £8 billion and one in seven (16%) of those who spend to keep up, forked out over £500.
The ‘How Britain Spends’ report, the second in a series developed by leading cashback site TopCashback, tracks our expenditure over time and exposes the pressure adults feel because of the lasting impact of the cost-of-living crisis.
The research reveals the pressure of keeping up with the lifestyles and spending habits of friends and family – to the point at which more than three quarters (78%) of those that feel the strain admitted they feel stressed about it.
It doesn’t stop there, with a similar amount (76%) feeling jealous that other people can afford things they can’t and eight in ten (80%) feeling confused as to how other people can afford their lifestyles.
Of those who have spent money keeping up with others around them, adults under 25, who are caught up in the pressure of early adulthood, spent the most (£416 on average), and men spent slightly more than women, with an average of £309 compared to £291.
Adults living in London, where the cost of housing, childcare and transport is higher, feel the most pressure to compete with their peers’ lifestyles, with those in Greater London spending £421 on average.
The How Britain Spends report also highlights that Brits are resorting to dipping into their savings accounts or using a credit card to fund this pressure, with 13% of adults admitting to using their hard-earned savings and 12% using credit cards to fund the lifestyle they want.
Adam Bullock, UK Director at TopCashback said “Despite the cost-of-living crisis crippling finances, we’ve found that so many people have felt the pressure to keep up with others’ lifestyles – diving into their savings and living beyond their means to match up. It’s particularly worrying that younger adults are the most susceptible to the ‘keeping up with the joneses’ mentality.
“The combined pressure of a higher cost of living and keeping up with our peers is not only causing us to spend more money, but it’s making us feel stressed when we spend, too. However, while it’s impossible to control the economy and rising prices, you can take your finances into your own hands.
“As we begin the New Year, we want to encourage people to be as savvy with their spending as possible and use various methods, from cashback to following personal finance pros on social media, to make their hard-earned money go as far as they can.”
Sue Hayward, a personal finance expert who has reviewed TopCashback’s report findings, said “What none of us know is how our friends, family or neighbours pay for that luxury kitchen, exotic holidays or expensive meals. We may be happy to talk about deals or discounts we’ve snapped up but may not admit if spending has run us into the red, or we’re battling credit card debt we can’t pay off.
“We all need to work at getting our own finances under control, not trying to aspire to match others’ spending.”
