Over Half Of Young Brits Are Living ‘Hand To Mouth’, Research Finds

The current housing climate and cost of living means that for most young people, their wage gets spent almost immediately after getting paid.

Once the rent has gone out and our bills have been paid, we’re not really left with much money to spend on ourselves – especially if we’re in entry level jobs.

And now research has found that more than half of young Brits are living ‘hand to mouth’, meaning they have just enough money to live on and nothing extra.

While that is a massive percentage, it isn’t really surprising to me. By the time payday comes, I’m usually on my last fiver and stretching to make it last. And all of my friends seem to be in the same position.

The study comprised of 2,000 adults aged 21-38 and found that many would struggle to get by if they were to find themselves out of work suddenly.

Meaning, if they were to get made redundant or were dismissed at short notice, they would not have enough money saved up to continue their normal lifestyle. Which is a terrifying prospect.

According to the research, a huge 41 per cent of people’s income is spent on rent/mortgage and bills, while another £160.71 goes on food and groceries every month.

So living costs alone amount to £1,928.52 a year, without even taking into account our rent and bills.

The study was carried out by Perkbox to launch its new card-linking technology.

Ashish Sampat of Perkbox said:

Despite the negative stereotypes about ‘broke millennials’ many do try their best to save. The reality is that they have bigger problems to face compared to previous generations. T

hey shoulder more student loan debt and face house prices that are far higher than their parents did at the same age. It’s no surprise then, that they inevitably struggle more with savings.

In spite of this, eight in 10 young Brits believe they are ‘good’ with money.

On average, those polled will spend £55.41 down the pub each month, £39.86 will go on clubbing and £42.65 will be spent on gambling.

They will also pay out £43.08 to watch streaming services, £47.87 on gadgets or tech and £48.97 on dining out. Appearances are also important as they shell out £65.18 on clothes and £43.11 on keeping fit.

It also emerged most of these young adults – seven in 10 – pay for their items using cards rather than cash.

Those polled tended to shop around for good deals – typically spending 25 minutes looking for bargains before making a purchase.

In addition to this, 30 per cent of those polled would prefer discounts from local business in their area, rather than those from high street chains.

Ashish Sampat added:

An attractive bargain must go beyond just making offers available to users. Millennials expect highly-personalised, easy to find, on-demand experiences and furthermore, authenticity is a huge thing for them, hence their value for local businesses.

Spending an average of 25 minutes looking for a bargain is way too excessive. That’s why we’re so excited about introducing card-linking technology to our platform.

It will enable us to connect employees with their favourite local businesses and get access to thousands of perks with just a swipe of the linked payment card at the point of sale.

Their financial savviness doesn’t end here either, with 70 per cent owning a loyalty card.

But the research, carried out by OnePoll, also found half of millennials would like to see retailers introduce loyalty cards which are connected to their smartphone.

It also emerged that when it comes to privacy, a whopping 68 per cent per cent trust that their data is secure when buying online.

For more information on how card-linking tech works and why millennials will love it, click here.

If you have a story you want to tell, send it to stories@unilad.co.uk.