- New research from Moneyboat which implemented a survey of 2,000 UK adults has revealed the impact of unexpected costs across the UK along with the average amounts that people are having to pay for them on a regular basis.
- The results show that 60% of UK adults are worried about the effects an unexpected cost would have on their savings, with 23% of UK adults stating that they aren’t confident that they currently have enough saved to pay for one should it arise.
- The results also show that nearly a quarter of UK adults (23%) don’t have any friends or family members who would be able to lend them a helping hand if an unexpected cost were to come about.
The cost-of-living crisis is causing many people to tighten their budgets and leaving many people living on the edge of financial security, with recent data showing that 46% of people have less than £1,000 in savings and 25% have £200 or less. This indicates that if an unexpected cost such as a car repair or expensive dental treatment were to come around, many would not have enough saved to cover it.
With this in mind, Moneyboat have carried out a survey in order to shed some light on the confidence levels of UK adults in being able to cover such a cost, how worried they are about the impact it would have on their finances, if they have anyone they can ask for help in such a situation and how much, on average, they have had to spend on certain unexpected costs recently:
Q – How confident are you that you currently have enough money saved to pay if an unexpected cost arose?
| Very confident | 29% |
| Fairly confident | 44% |
| Not very confident | 14% |
| Not confident at all | 9% |
| Not sure | 3% |
The results show that whilst 73% of people are either very or fairly confident that they have enough money saved to cover an unexpected cost arising, 23% of UK adults stated that they aren’t confident that they have enough money saved with 1 in 10 people (9%) stating that they aren’t confident at all.
Q – How worried are you about the effect an unexpected would have on your savings?
| Very worried | 17% |
| Fairly worried | 43% |
| Not very worried | 24% |
| Not worried at all | 10% |
| Not sure | 6% |
When it comes to how worried people are about the effects an unexpected cost would have on their finances, 60% of people stated that they are either very or fairly worried about the effect an unexpected cost would have on their savings, with just 10% of people claiming that they aren’t worried at all.
Q – Which, if any, of the following people would be able to help you if an unexpected cost were to arise?
| Parent(s) | 35% |
| Partner/spouse | 33% |
| Friend(s) | 15% |
| Grandparent(s) | 9% |
| None of the above | 23% |
| Not sure | 14% |
The survey results revealed that Parents (35%) are the most likely source of financial help in the event of an unexpected cost, followed by Partner/spouse (33%), Friend(s) (15%) and lastly Grandparent(s) (9%), with almost a quarter of UK adults (23%) stating that they don’t have anyone to ask for helping hand in the event of an unexpected cost.
Respondents were then asked to state how much they had recently had to pay for certain unexpected costs if applicable, revealing the following average costs:
How much are Brits having to pay when an unexpected cost arises?
| Unexpected Cost | Average Price |
| School Uniforms | £124.78 |
| Pet Costs | £171.44 |
| Fines | £116.09 |
| Car Repairs | £479.09 |
| Home Repairs | £562.10 |
| Dental Care | £365.33 |
Based on these average figures, an unexpected car repair, home repair or dental care bill would leave 25% of UK adults, who have less than £200 in savings, unable to afford these payments, along with the other unexpected costs which would take a great toll on such an amount of savings.
If you’d like to read more about the results of the survey and the questions asked, you can read the full blog article on the survey via Moneyboat’s blog: https://www.moneyboat.co.uk/blog/the-impact-of-unexpected-costs-in-the-uk/
