Lessons from R3 that would offend the 2nd Earl of Rochester

In a pre-christmas missive that would be an affront to John, the second Earl of Rochester (pictured), the Association of Business Recovery Professionals (R3) published the results of an interesting survey on drinking and debt. The survey will be of interest to policy makers and students alike. Here is the substance of the research:
"One in three young people (34%) say they’ve spent more on evenings out than they originally set out to this year as a result of consuming alcohol, according to research released today by insolvency trade body R3.

The research, which looks at alcohol-induced spending among 18-24 year olds over the last year, also finds that one in ten young people (13%) have woken up without remembering how much they’ve spent the night before and one in five (18%) admit to thinking ‘who cares about money – I’ll deal with it another day!’. The research suggests that buying luxury drinks and spontaneous meals may account for impulsive purchases.

The research finds that among 18-24 year olds, in the last twelve months:

    • 34% have, after a few drinks, ended up spending more money than they originally set out to spend in the last year.
    • 24% have ended up buying food or going out to eat even though they didn’t originally intend to.
    • 20% have bought more expensive drinks than they usually would do (e.g. cocktails or champagne).
    • 18% admit to thinking ‘who cares about money – I’ll deal with it another day!’.
    • 17% have drawn out more cash than they would have done if they had not had a drink.
    • 13% have woken up without remembering how much they spent the night before.
    • 5% say they have woken up to find receipts for things they didn’t remember buying.

...

Tips to avoid drink-fuelled spending in the festive season:

  1. Work out how many evenings out you have planned before Christmas and allocate how much you plan to spend on each.
  2. If the number of evenings out you have planned means you’ll spend more than you’re earning, cut down and cancel.
  3. Before you go out, draw out a set amount of cash that you can afford to spend and use that as your total budget for the evening.
  4. Pay in cash rather than cards so you can keep track of your spending.
  5. If you believe you’re getting into trouble with your debts, seek help as soon as you can."
Picture Credit: http://www.ohjohnny.net/lib/rochesterandmonkey.jpg

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