24% of adults ‘have spent £200-plus over past year keeping up with the Joneses’

Men spend slightly more than women typically to keep up with the lifestyles of others, a survey indicates.

Nearly a quarter of adults have spent more than £200 over the past year to keep up with the lifestyles of friends and family members, according to TopCashback (Dominic Lipinski/PA) (PA Archive)

Nearly a quarter (24%) of adults have spent more than £200 over the past year to keep up with the lifestyles of friends and family members, according to a survey.

Men spend slightly more than women typically to keep up with the lifestyles of others, at £309 and £291 respectively, the How Britain Spends report from cashback website TopCashback found.

Adults aged under 25 typically spent the most keeping up with others, at £416 on average.

We've found that so many people have felt the pressure to keep up with others' lifestyles - diving into their savings and living beyond their means to match up

Adam Bullock, TopCashback

Across all age groups, 13% of adults said they use their savings and 12% use credit cards to fund their lifestyle.

Adam Bullock, UK director at TopCashback said: “Despite the cost-of-living crisis crippling finances, we’ve found that so many people have felt the pressure to keep up with others’ lifestyles – diving into their savings and living beyond their means to match up.

“It’s particularly worrying that younger adults are the most susceptible to the ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ mentality.”

The survey also looked at the extent to which money worries are impacting adults across generally. Three in 10 (30%) people said they dwell on money worries at least once a week.

A quarter (25%) of people said they have lost sleep over money concerns more than once a week.

Censuswide surveyed more than 2,000 people across the UK in November 2023 for the report.