LONDON - Monthly bills and expenses account for more than two-thirds of an average workers' pay packet even before it reaches his/her account, a survey has found.
An average UK worker earns £1,389 in take-home pay every month, but has to set aside nearly £1,093 for monthly expenses including food, according to Combined Insurance, which questioned 2,000 workers. This means that after settling all bills, only £74 can be saved per week.
"Millions of Britons are living on the edge by failing to protect the lifestyles they have become accustomed to. Few people have enough savings to last them more than a few weeks, and the majority of people have no income protection in place," said Nigel Brittle, of Combined Insurance.
The major chunk of monthly earnings is earmarked for mortgage payments with an average £347 being spent on it. Credit card bills and debt repayment loans account for £216. Food expenses amount to £215, while travel costs an average person around £115. Utility bills and council tax amount to £156. And if there are children in the house, average workers spend close to £50 each month for expenses related to school or college or university. Cleaning, gardening and childcare are also included in this.
Combined Insurance also sounded alarm bells by saying that most people had no insurance cover to speak of and if they were unfortunate enough to fall ill or lose their jobs, they could survive for only 18 days on their savings. Combined Insurance had commissioned YouGov to conduct this survey in Wales and England in July.
"People should take time to review their finances because it seems an awful lot is going on bills leaving people to go in debt if they go out or buy goods," said a spokesman for Combined Insurance.
Posted
on : Fri, 16 Sep 2005 19:55 GMT | Investments News
By : Salim Patel
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