Brits consider coffee a “lifestyle essential”

Chris Taylor

21/10/2011 13:24:09

Despite the economic downturn Britons are still finding ways to treat themselves with “lifestyle essentials” such as holidays, takeaways and cups of coffee.

Research commissioned by the insurer LV found that the nation is actually spending more on these luxury items; even though three-quarters of people say that they are making cutbacks.

Amidst rising inflation and stalling wages, Brits still racked up a bill of £149 billion for these items. According to Mail Online, that works out at around £5,850 per household. Ironically, these findings account for a £5.7 billion increase in luxury spending over the last year.

Holidays topped the poll - with over half of respondents saying that they wouldn’t give them up for anything. However, eating habits were a different story.

While a third said that they have begun to take their own lunch into work, just one in ten people said that they were willing to sacrifice the taste of bean-to-cup coffee machines at lunchtime. In addition, nearly half (47 per cent) said that they were buying cheaper, lesser-known brands to save money.

More than 2,000 people took part in the LV Lifestyle Inflation index that was carried out by the Centre for Economics and Business Research. The poll also featured National Statistics data, reports the Press Association.