‘I’ve had to cut down how many podcasts I do’

Millions of projects started during the pandemic now face the chop thanks to rising bills and taxes. By Will Kirkman

‘It’s easy to over spend on a passion project because you love it’ Anu Verma Coventry ‘Bills have risen but I’m keeping my horse’ Emma Bull Leeds

From baking sourdough to buying a pet, millions of people picked up new habits and hobbies during the Covid lockdowns. But these passion projects will be the first expense on the chopping block as the country tightens its belt amid the cost of living crisis, experts have said.

Hobbies add £ 105 to people’s monthly outgoings on average, according to research from Tesco Bank.

Meanwhile, the cost of living has soared this month. Energy bills, council tax, broadband costs, rail fares and the price of petrol and diesel, clothing, food and stamps are all rising.

April also marks the arrival of a series of punishing tax changes, including the rise in National Insurance.

In times of financial hardship luxuries and hobbies are usually the first expense to be cut.

Anu Verma, 41, from Coventry, said she had had to cut back on a podcast she started during lockdown called “Victim 2 Victor” because of the rising cost of living.

Ms Verma was new to podcasting and had to pay for a team that could help get the project off the ground. It costs her between £150 and £300 each month, depending on how many episodes she is able to make.

Originally Ms Verma was releasing three podcasts a week. She said she had now been forced to cut down to one a week.

“I’ve noticed that the cost of everyday things is definitely going up,” she said. “My car is a one-litre hybrid – it used to take £45 to fill it up with petrol and I think that has now probably doubled.

“I’ve cut the podcast release schedule down. My outgoings were quite high and it’s so easy to overspend on a passion project because it’s something you love so much.”

Ms Verma said she planned to continue releasing her podcast on a reduced schedule.

Sara Mak, 49, an artist from Cheshire, rediscovered her passion for painting in March 2020 after she was furloughed and she began to take commissions from friends and family.

But demand has now dwindled because of the cost of living crisis, Ms Mak said, as fewer people had the money for luxury or bespoke items.

She said she had been expecting several commissions for Mothering Sunday that did not come through. “People are struggling, and buying a painting seems like folly when your priorities are feeding your children and heating your home”, she said.

Among those to take on new activities as a result of the pandemic, home improvers have increased their outgoings the most: they spend an average of £178 a month on DIY projects around the house, Tesco Bank said.

Meanwhile, the health conscious have spent an additional £101 a month on average to establish a new at-home gym routine.

Around 8pc of households bought a new pet during the pandemic, spending an extra £100 a month on average, the bank said. The cost of buying an animal soared during the first lockdown as people forced to stay indoors sought companionship. The average cost of a dog doubled over the course of a year to £1,400.

Emma Bull, 48, from Leeds, went one step further and used time working from home as an opportunity to fulfil a lifelong dream of buying and caring for a horse.

Ms Bull had owned a pony growing up but then left for university, travelled and worked in London, all of which meant she didn’t have the time or money to look after a horse. She started riding again in her spare time after moving to West Yorkshire before the first lockdown.

“Like many people in lockdown, I reassessed and thought, ‘ If I don’t do this now, when will I?’. So I just went for it,” she said.

Ms Bull bought a three- year- old Connemara pony from Ireland called Lulu. She spends several hundred pounds a month looking after her, and said she had recently noticed the cost of living start to rise.

It’s not just her own bills that are rising, but how much she spends on Lulu,

too, she said. “The cost of visiting the farrier has gone up, as has the price of her food.”

But Ms Bull said she would be able to continue to pay for the maintenance of her horse despite the rising costs.

Gail Goldie, of Tesco Bank, said: “Hobbies add more to our monthly spending, and this comes at a time when life is getting more expensive.

“If you are looking to keep up your new hobby, small changes can have the biggest impact on your money.”

She added that “having a monthly budget or using loyalty schemes can make your money go further each month”.