Money Down the Drain! Brits Spend Over £4,000 A Year on Day-To-Day Tasks They Regularly Outsource

Capital One UK launches its ‘Save Per View TV’ content series – allowing viewers to save money as they learn new skills.

• New research by Capital One UK has found that Brits spend over £4,000 a year on day-to-day tasks & services they regularly outsource to others
• The research has informed the release of Capital One UK’s ‘Consumer Skills Index’ – a list of the most common tasks that people regularly splash the cash on
• Capital One UK has launched its ‘Save Per View TV’ content series, partnering with a group of thrifty content creators on short-form content which can help people to save money by learning new skills.

New research commissioned by Capital One UK has found that Brits spend more than £4,000 a year on day-to-day tasks and services that they regularly outsource to others. This is everything from fixing a leaking tap, to changing a tyre and even getting their nails done – which, over time, could take a heavy toll on purse strings during the cost-of-living crisis.

Can’t resist that daily coffee run? The study of 2,000 Brits has identified the most common tasks and services that people regularly splash the cash on, informing Capital One UK’s Consumer Skills Index – a list of skills you can start to adopt, to help save you money – including everything from blow-dries (42%), to takeaway coffees (49%) and washing the car (37%).

But it’s not for the want of trying that leads people to outsource these tasks, with a third of people (33%) paying others to perform tasks for them due to a lack of time, and a further 58% believing they don’t have the skills to do the tasks themselves. That said, two-thirds of people were keen to start doing tasks themselves to help them save money, with 45% admitting to feeling concerned about how much they’re spending on different services, leading to 28% having financial worries daily.

With households looking for ways to cut-back on spending during the cost-of-living crisis, and with 31% of people turning to sites such as YouTube for tips on saving the pennies, Capital One UK is doing One Good Thing with the launch of its ‘Save Per View TV’ content series. Informed by the research and insights into the most lucrative skills – Capital One has partnered with a group of savvy content creators to produce long-form ‘how to’ guides, teaching viewers easy skills that could help to save them money and learn something new in the process.

The series includes delicious ‘fake-away’ recipes – including a take on ‘THAT’ Katsu curry – handy DIY hacks and energy boosting at-home workouts, as well as useful tips to help save you money. Watching these short videos has the potential to save viewers up to over £1,600* a year should they take up the skill.

Capital One UK is also working with financial advisor and host of the Mr MoneyJar Show podcast, Timi Merriman-Johnson, to offer up his tips and hacks to cunningly save money in the current economic crisis. Timi said:

“During tough economic times, it’s all about adapting and living as well as possible; we all know that outsourcing things is easier, but there are lots of benefits to reap from occasionally doing these tasks yourself.

“Becoming more conscious of your spending and applying little tweaks here and there – such as buying own-brand items, turning the thermostat down by a few degrees and upskilling daily tasks – such as that morning coffee – will help to keep costs down and will add up over time. It’s also good practice to check-in with your money more frequently – preferably weekly – so you can keep on top of expenditure, lessen money worries, and tweak your budget to reflect recent spending.”

The cost-of-living crisis is continuing to put a strain on the pockets of Brits, with 73% of people having noticed a considerable rise in how much everything costs since the financial downturn started – with 30% believing it has had a significant impact on their everyday life. And whilst 30% of people have started to rein in their spending, 40% have noticed this having a negative impact on their overall wellbeing.

In a world of financial uncertainty and complication, Capital One UK is on a mission to drive positive change across the financial industry and promises to put the best interests of its customers first, by doing one small, good thing at a time.

For more information check out our infographic below, and to watch the videos to help you get savvier with your finances, head to the Save Per View TV webpage here: https://www.capitalone.co.uk/save-per-view-tv

*Figures taken from Brits average yearly spending habits

Timi Merriman-Johnson provided commentary for this news story in paid partnership with Capital One UK.

Brits yearly spending habits:

• Takeaways - £375.71
• Household/garden maintenance - £370.27
• Beauty treatments - £397.4537
• Basic car maintenance - £438.34
• Gym memberships - £501.35
• Household decorating - £421.34
• Petcare - £423.97
• Repairing clothes - £353.11
• Household plumbing - £409.82
• Dry cleaning - £399.72

Infographic - Transcript

“Money Savers”

Brits spend more than £4,000 a year on tasks & services that they regularly outsource to others - such as cleaning the house, garden maintenance and getting their nails done

Most popular tasks people regularly spend on

1. 49% Takeaways - Average annual spend of £375.71
2. 44% Household/garden maintenance - Average annual spend of £370.27
3. 42% Beauty treatments - Average annual spend of £397.45
4. 37% Basic car maintenance - Average annual spend of £438.34
5. 30% Gym memberships - Average annual spend of £501.35
6. 24% Household decorating - Average annual spend of £421.34
7. 23% Pet grooming - Average annual spend of £423.97
8. 20% Repairing clothes - Average annual spend of £353.11
9. 19% Household plumbing - Average annual spend of £409.82
10. 13% Dry cleaning - Average annual spend of £399.72

Reasons for spending

• 24% don’t want to do the task
• 33% say a lack of time
• 58% believe they don’t have the skills to do these things themselves

Spending concerns

• 45% are concerned about how much they spend these different services
• 67% say this has increased since inflation began to rise
• 24% weren’t successful in their attempts to cut spending

63% have started doing some of these things, rather than paying someone else to do them. Including:

• House maintenance
• Beauty treatments
• Decorating

Research conducted by OnePoll with a sample of 2,000 UK adults in February 2023