Brits blow £50 billion of savings on holidays each year

Brits are blowing their hard earned savings on holidays, according to new research conducted by Abbey Savings. In fact, over one in four Brits (26 per cent) believe that the best way to spend excess money is to go on holiday, rather than save.

According to the research, Brits spend on average an amount equivalent to 10.1 per cent of their net income - or by their reckoning £1,650 - on going on holiday each year. This equates to £81 billion spent on holidays by the UK's adult population each year.

62 per cent of Britons use their savings to pay for these holidays, meaning a whopping £50.4 billion savings could be raided each year to pay for holidays. The interest lost from taking out these savings could be as high as £3.2 billion if savers were invested in a high paying savings account - such as Abbey's eSaver Direct paying 6.5 per cent.

This appears to be part of an increased trend towards Britons spending swathes of money on holidays. The research showed that while 46 per cent of Britons did not list saving for the future amongst their top three priorities, 33 per cent of Britons felt that going on expensive holidays was one of their top three priorities.

Reza Attar-Zadeh, Director of Savings and Investments at Abbey, said: "If people cut back a small proportion of the amount they spent on holidays and kept their savings, this would make a real difference to their financial wellbeing. With savings rates at excellent levels, there has never been a better time to save for the future."

Customers can apply for the eSaver Direct online at abbey.com