Researchers from The Gym Group have taken a deep dive into the ways in which money savvy Brits are cutting back on their spending this year, with cutting out the weekend pizza, Chinese or curry, topping a list of 35 ways Brits are saving the pennies.
One in four (22 percent) have started batch cooking, while a fifth (19 percent) have unsubscribed from apps that they don’t use.
18 percent have cancelled streaming services, while 12 percent are opting for DIY haircuts, growing their own veg (10 percent) and DIY beauty treatments (nine percent), while seven percent have reverted to taking books out of the library and making bread from scratch (six percent).
One in twenty said switching to a less expensive gym membership was on their list of cost-saving swaps. The average monthly amount currently spent by gym-goers surveyed comes to a whopping £65.30.
Cycling to work (five percent) and car sharing (four percent) were also in the list of Brit’s savvy cost saving exercises.
Ann-marie Murphy, Chief Operating Officer at The Gym Group said: “It is clear that finding ways to budget that allow us to maintain our lifestyle is so important. This research shows the spending decisions many are facing during increased cost of living, including choosing lower cost subscriptions and memberships. In fact 16 percent of new members joined us because their previous gym fees were too expensive.”
Eight in ten (80 percent) Brits say they have reviewed their finances this year, saving an average of £118 in the process.
Increased pressures on their finances (49 percent), increasing bills (47 percent), being prepared for whatever may happen in the future (37 percent) and wanting to start putting money away (31 percent) are the main reasons for analysing costs.
A third (29 percent) think they could be better at managing their money, while one in four (26 percent) want to future proof their current standard of living.
Despite wanting to save money, a third (27 percent) admit that they will miss the items that they are swapping or ditching, with three quarters (74 percent) saying it is important for them to maintain the same lifestyle.
Good for my mental health (49 percent), not wanting to change their day-to-day lifestyle (45 percent), ruining their social life (36 percent) and wanting to have new things (15 percent) are the main reasons for maintaining their standard of living.
Four in ten (40 percent) said that the detox made them feel more in control of their finances, while 39 percent felt better at managing their money and pleased with themselves (38 percent).
A third (35 percent) felt more motivated to get more value out of their spending, with one in three (34 percent) admitting they were more conscious of what comes out of their bank account.
Price (79 percent) is top priority when considering signing up to a new provider, followed by quality of service (47 percent), convenience (34 percent) and availability (25 percent).
Two thirds (63 percent) don’t do a financial detox every year because they’ve not needed one before (44 percent). A sixth (21 percent) want to build better financial habits, while one in ten (12 percent) want to save for a large purchase like a holiday, car or a house deposit.
One in four (25 percent) will continue to do one every six months, while a third (30 percent) will undertake a review once a year.
TOP 35 WAYS BRITS ARE SAVING CASH
- Ditching takeaways 43%
- Shopping around for discounts 38%
- Reducing meals out/pub trips 37%
- Turning the thermostat down 37%
- Turning off appliances at the plug 34%
- Sticking to a meal plan and shopping list 29%
- Swapping premium brands for supermarket own 28%
- Ditching shop bought coffees 25%
- Cutting down alcohol 22%
- Batch cooking 22%
- Using loyalty cards 22%
- Buying food in bulk 19%
- Eating less meat 19%
- Unsubscribing from apps 19%
- Thrift shopping 18%
- Cancelling streaming subscriptions 18%
- Avoiding top up shops 18%
- Buying from second hand websites 17%
- Ditching ready meals 17%
- Swapping lunch out for a packed lunch 16%
- Negotiating prices with providers 15%
- DIY haircuts 12%
- Installing a smart meter 11%
- Growing my own veg 10%
- DIY beauty treatments 9%
- DIY home projects 9%
- Swapping car journeys for public transport 8%
- Travelling at off-peak times 7%
- Taking books out of the library 7%
- Making bread 6%
- Walking the children to school 6%
- Cycling to work 5%
- Switching to a lower cost gym membership 5%
- Going into the office to save hearing at home 5%
- Car sharing 4%
