Booze, eating out and takeaway coffees will be ditched by Brits in 2015 to save cash – but holidays will be last on the list of sacrifices.
Nearly half of us will give up something we love in January to save money, says British Airways Holidays who must be delighted to see that people are never keen on missing their annual break.
Giving up these Top 5 most popular spends could save you £2,815 a year:
- Eating out (annual saving £1,272)
- Alcohol (annual saving £806)
- Take-away coffee (annual saving £552)
- Online shopping (annual saving on delivery charges £142.80)
- Chocolate (annual saving £42.72)
The most popular sacrifice is ‘eating out’, with one in five of us pledging to curb the expense, followed by ditching alcohol (16 per cent) and take-away coffee (12 per cent).
Food, drink, cigarettes and online shopping are all items we would scrap before sacrificing a holiday (eight per cent). Among the least likely items to give up are; spray tans (five per cent), a cleaner (four per cent) and social media (three per cent) – despite potential data roaming savings of up to £84 a year.
Claire Bentley, MD at British Airways Holidays who have launched a January sale, said: “It’s no surprise that holidays are one of the last luxuries people give up. After the excitement of Christmas and with the weather being so grey, a holiday abroad is one of the few treats that help get us through the winter blues.”
Here’s how people through the regions will save money:
- 10 per cent of Londoners plan to cut back on transport costs
- Those from the North East will give up most vices, including alcohol (25 per cent), eating out (27 per cent) and chocolate (20 per cent)
- One in five Scots will forgo alcohol to save money
- One in five Londoners plan to give up alcohol, but only one in 20 will give up social media
- People from Northern Ireland most likely to make cutbacks (55 per cent) – East Anglia the least (38 per cent)
- Those from the North West are least likely to stop going on holiday (four per cent)
- The Welsh are the least likely to give up gym membership (two per cent)
- People from the Midlands are most keen to give up smoking (17 per cent)
- 15 per cent of people from the North East will give up spray tansHere’s BA’s 12 Top Tips to save for a 2015 holiday (all costs are annual savings):
Clean up – Burn off the calories by taking up the weekly cleaning chores, you’ll find you’re £1,920 richer for losing the cleaner. (Based on four hours a week at £40)
Gym membership – If you haven’t used it, ditch it! Admit that you’re not getting value for money. Giving up a £60 a month membership fee will save you a whopping £720 per year.
Nail yourself – Swap your monthly trip to the nail salon (£20) and invest in two luxury lacquers and do it yourself – you’ll save £220 in the process.
Social media – If you’ve been meaning to cut down on social media, now’s the time. For instance, going from 1GB of data to 100mb a month can save up to £84 a year in data charges.
Eating Out – Curl up with a curry for two in front of the TV (£7.50 from a supermarket), rather than dine out (£34) for a massive £1,272 a year saving
Cut back on coffee – If you switch the daily cuppa on the way to work (£2.90), for a homemade version you’ll save £552.
Lose the booze – According to Macmillan Cancer Support, you can save an average £806 a year from cutting back on booze – even more if you’re a man (women spend £678 compared to men who spend £934)
Hit the high street – Online shopping can be great for bargains, but delivery costs can rack up. With many next day deliveries costing £5.95, hit the high street and save up to £142.80 a year.
Cigarettes – Reap the health and financial rewards of being a non-smoker, and save on average £793.87 as a result (based on a 35-a-week habit, costing £15.22)
Give up Chocolate! For the small sacrifice of a chocolate bar a week (89p) you could have £42.72 in your back pocket
Spray away – Get money and time back, by giving up 40 minutes in the tanning salon (£50 a month) for £600.
Take the bus – Save on parking and petrol, and take the bus at the weekend. You’ll save roughly £211 a year from this one change a week.
BA’s sale of destinations from Madrid to Mauritius (above) and Barcelona to Bermuda ends January 27. See ba.com
