There is no better feeling than payday and seeing your bank account swing in to a much healthier position. It is only natural therefore, that people splurge a little on payday and it is important to treat yourself from time to time, so how much does the working public typically spend on payday and how are they treating themselves?
The Average Spend
Suits Me recently did some research on the nation’s spending habits on payday, which revealed some interesting findings. Suits Me surveyed 1,000 adults and found that, on average, UK consumers spend £132 on payday. Data from the research showed that people spent 21% of their disposable income on the day that the money goes in, which is actually down compared to 2020 where a staggering 43% was splashed on payday.
Experiences are Popular
So, what are people spending their money on at the time that they are most flush? It seems that it is experiences that people prefer over physical items with the most popular payday expenditures being a takeaway (41%), drinks out (37%) and a meal out (37%) – the lifting of COVID restrictions are likely to be a key factor here.
Other Expenditures
People do like to spend on physical items on payday as well. This includes new clothes (28%), beauty/grooming products (24%), new shoes (23%) and home furnishings (22%). Other expenditures included beauty treatments (17%), limited edition products (10%), video games (10%) and PT sessions (9%). There were also a few unexpected items revealed in the research, including garden gnomes, hot air balloon rides, an outdoor bar and even a goose costume!
Gender
In terms of the difference in gender, the research found that men spent almost double on designer clothing and around the same on beauty products and treatments as women. This goes against the stereotype and shows that men are just as interested and invested in looking and feeling good as women. Most gender splits were near even, other than video games with men (13.9%) spending much more than women (4.8%).
Region
Region is another area that was looked at with interesting results. As you might expect, London was the place where people spent more heavily with an average of £162.95. Scotland has the biggest spenders outside of the capital with an average of £162.97 while the South West is the most conservative with payday spending with an average of £99.49.
It’s a nice feeling on payday when you have some spare money available and it is clear that the UK workforce wastes no time in splashing the cash when their salary arrives.
People work hard throughout the month, so it is important that they reward themselves when they are able to. It is interesting to see how much people are spending and on what, with it being clear that people are currently prioritising experiences as opposed to physical items, but of course, these are popular purchases too.
