A new survey has shown that the average Briton “wastes” £107 a month on buying things they don’t need.
When people were asked how much they usually “fritter away” every month from their bank balance, the average answer was £107: £1,284 a year and £79,608 during the course of an adult lifetime.
The items that people said they most commonly wasted money on were chocolate, sweets and snacks – 68%. More than half said they wasted their money on takeaways. A total of 36% of respondents said they made unnecessary clothing and accessory purchases. Other easy buys included DVDs, CDs, games on phone and computers and beauty items.
Mark Pearson, chairman of MyVoucherCodes.co.uk, which conducted the survey, said: “It can be so easy to lose track of spending when it’s on small items like a quick snack here and there, or the odd CD. Although those individual items might not seem expensive, the cost soon mounts up and before you know it you can easily have spent a small fortune with not a lot to show for it.”
He added: “Keep an eye on your spending throughout the month and ask yourself if you really need to buy something before you part with your cash. An action as small as being more aware of your spending can help save in the long run.”
All I would say to this is: when is chocolate every considered a waste of money? Chocolate, sweets and snacks are great on occasion, as too are takeaways. Yes, we all may buy things we don’t need at times, but I don’t see anything wrong with that. It’s all about choices and if you work hard then surely you deserve to spend your hard-earned money on what you want: and that may often be chocolate in my case. I know my youngest daughter would say the same too – except she would be spending my money and not hers!