Spend it like Beckham

The perceived novelty of their salary hitting the bank leads to one in three Brits going all out to treat themselves, according to a report into salary spending behavior commissioned by cashback and rewards site Quidco, that revealed the average adult will have spent almost a fifth of their wages within twenty four hours of it hitting the bank.

Clothes, meals out and alcohol, are the top three things Brits most commonly splash out on in the immediate aftermath of payday, and it takes, on average, four days for the novelty to wear off and normal spending habits to resume.

Women are most likely to buy into the notion that ‘pay day’ has a novelty value, with 48 per cent believing this. But conversely they also face the most remorse about overspending too early in the month, over half (55%) compared to 45% of men.

Those at the start of their careers are also more prone to buyers’ remorse, with a massive 69% of 18 – 24s admitting to regretting their rash spending later in the month.

Ladies also have the biggest tendency to live pay cheque to pay cheque, with a quarter saying they are spent out by the end of the month, compared to 18% of men, and 37% of women starting to feel the pinch within the first seven days, with 30% of ladies consistently finding themselves counting down to their next pay cheque.

The nation is full of good intentions when it comes to putting money away for a later date. A massive 71% try to save money from their wages, but a guilty 29% admit they frequently have to take it back out again to help them at the end of the month, while 15% intend to save, but just haven’t got around to it.

An honest 60% of Brits acknowledge a pay rise wouldn’t necessarily affect how much they had at the end of the month, with 20% saying they would probably up their spend to absorb the extra.

Bad budgeting habits

Just half of Brits say they consistently shop around for the best deals (50%) whereas 7% only start looking when they are running out of cash.

12% admit they try to budget to make their money last every month but it rarely works, while 15% simply don’t bother. Treat foods are the first thing to go when it comes to reining in spending, followed by restricting nights out with partners and shopping trips, but just 15% think to use discount codes or vouchers, and cash in on loyalty schemes like Quidco.

Andy Oldham, MD of cashback and rewards site Quidco, said: ‘When you work hard, it’s reasonable to feel entitled to having a little bit of what you like at the end of the month when your salary comes through, as long as you don’t allow common sense to go out the window leaving you on a strict budget when the payday euphoria wears off.

“Rationing yourself aside, there are ways to make your money go a lot further without resorting to beans on toast at the end of the month. Getting into the habit of using reward sites to build up cash back on all purchases, from your every day essentials through to life’s luxuries, effectively generating extra funds that you can either save, or are free to spend at a later date.

“A common mistake is deploying money saving tactics at the end of the month, when your bank account is dwindling, consistently keeping an eye on your spending can help make sure you are able to maintain the lifestyle you want throughout the month, not just in the magic few days post-pay day.”