UK parents spent an estimated £7.8 billion entertaining their children over the summer break – regional breakdown

UK Parents faced with £594 bill from entertaining their children this summer

• UK parents spent an estimated £7.8 billion entertaining their children over the summer break
• The cost of entertaining kids has increased by 25% in the last year as parents splash out
• While half of parents (55%) thought they had saved enough money to cover the cost of the school holidays – on average they have only saving 53% of the average cost of the summer (£316)
• One in four parents (25%)  expected to put their saving habits on hold to entertain children this summer

UK parents spent an estimated £7.8 billion entertaining their children over the summer – an average of £594 per parent, according to the Post Office Money annual Parents’ Summer Spending report.*

The costs associated with the summer holidays increased by a quarter (25%) in 2018, and 30% over the past five years. The higher expected spend this year may be an indicator of general consumer confidence as families are willing to spend more on entertaining their children, however many parents were still understandably concerned, with 61% worrying about covering the cost.

Summer expenditure year-on-year:

Parents may be now feeling the pinch from entertaining their children, with eating out topping the list of expected expenses this year (47%), followed by entrance to attractions (45%)**. In addition to fun activities, parents estimated they would spend £117 on fuel, £86 treating their children’s friends and £93 on childcare – pushing the total summer expenditure to £980. Children of primary school age cost more on average than those in preschool or secondary school, with their parents estimating they would spend an average of £684 on them this summer.

Parents planned ahead to make sure they were prepared for the cost of the holidays; with one in five (19%) putting money away since February. Over half (55%) of parents believed they had saved enough to cover the cost of summer, with those who had put money away saving on average £316. Despite parents saving money in advance, the amount they have put away was 53% less than the average spend expected per parent, suggesting parents needed to find other ways to top up the family funds.

As well as saving specifically for the summer, dipping into other existing savings (28%), using a credit card (24%), working overtime (18%) or selling items on an auction website (12%), were popular options for parents to cover the holiday expenses. One in 10 (8%) expected to rely on a loan from a family or friend, although 80% expect to have paid this loan back within three months.

Setting a budget can stop costs from escalating, and 37% of parents planned to keep to or spent less than their budget last year. Only one in 10 (12%) spent a lot more than they had intended to when entertaining their children.

Summer can be a difficult time to save, and one quarter (23%) of parents expected to put saving on hold during this period, while just over half (55%) admit they expected the extra spending over the school holiday period will impact their ability to keep saving.

Chrysanthy Pispinis, Director, Post Office Money comments: “The school holidays can put real pressure on parents’ wallets. Getting into a habit of saving in advance, and budgeting for what you think you’ll need can really help cover the cost of summer, especially as it is so easy to overspend.”

For more information, please contact:

Lily Cunningham, PR & Campaigns Manager Post Office

Lily.Cunningham@postoffice.co.uk

Twitter @postofficenews

Lansons

PostOffice@lansons.com

0207 566 9702 / 0207 294 3638 / 0207 294 3643