Brits splashing out to keep up with Joneses

EASY LIFE COSTS HOUSEHOLDERS MORE THAN £1k A YEAR

BRITS are living the easy life…but struggling to pay for it.

Many of us spend over £1,000 a year on cleaners, gardeners and time-saving gadgets we see as modern necessities.

A survey revealed that more than half of us would pay a fortune to never have to clean our home again!

Once seen as luxuries for the rich, more than two-fifths (43%) of Brits now think cleaners, gardeners and dog walkers are must-haves.

On average, consumers spend £109 on these types of services each month, totalling £1,308 over a year, according to website TopCashback.co.uk.

The most popular services include hiring a cleaner (26%), gardener (22%) or handyman (18%) to help around the house.

Consumers are also investing in smart tech, including robot vacuum cleaners and devices such as Amazon Echo and Hive.

But while bidding to keep up with the Joneses, more than half (53%) try to bring the cost of these services down so they do not have to go without.

Fifty-eight per cent look for discounts and offers and almost half (47%) opt to use the services less frequently than they would like to. Yet, only 36% of consumers can afford these services from their disposable income.

Almost half (44%) have to plan their finances carefully, 13% need to follow a strict budget and seven per cent admit to struggling but still manage to pay out.

When asked if money was no object, would they pay £50,000 to never clean their home again, more than half (52%) of Brits said yes.

Almost two-fifths (38%) also said they would pay the same to never use a vacuum cleaner again. So I put it to my readers, who I am sure are far smarter than the Brits who took the survey, that here is an opportunity to make some money, rather than spending your hardearned cash.

When you look at the list above you will see that there are at least seven services which could be provided by anyone with the necessary experience, which most of us will have by simply having our own home.

If you fancy earning some extra cash there are a number of great sites out there on which you can advertise your services, most are free to register and, according to the survey, there should be plenty of takers for your valuable time.

Here are a few good sites to take a look at:

RatedPeople.com is a great site for finding a handyman and you can keep it local.

Care.com is a site which put cleaners together with people who need one, it’s free to register and local jobs are available.

Mybuilder.com is similar to RatedPeople but you can also find gardening work there.