For immediate release Wednesday 5th October 2005

NEW SURVEY HIGHLIGHTS WHAT YOUNG PEOPLE SPEND

A survey carried out by the Investment Management Association (IMA) shows that the 18 – 29 year old age group spends:

£92 per month on cigarettes (approximately 20 packs)
£57 per month on alcohol (about 23 pints of lager) and
£27 per month on their mobile.

But 36% of them don’t put aside any money for savings, with 87% saying they can’t afford it.

The IMA believes that young people can afford to start saving and they can set aside enough to make a meaningful amount for less than the cost of 5 packets of cigarettes or 9 pints of lager.  For £20 it is possible to start up a monthly investment fund savings plan which has the potential to grow to over £13,000 in 20 year’s time¹. 

The IMA is urging young people who have started working to start saving as soon as possible with the message that the earlier you start the less you have to put away every month in order to ensure you can enjoy your retirement.  All this may seem a long way off to an under-30 year old but all the evidence shows that saving early on will bring real benefits in later life. IMA’s new monthly savings fact sheet explains the benefits of monthly investment fund savings plans and shows how they can potentially grow over a long period of time. 

Mona Patel, Head of Consumer Affairs at the IMA said,

“ We’re not saying that young people have to stop spending – we’re simply encouraging them to think about what they spend and to choose to divert some of that money into long-term saving.  For as little as £20 per month – less than the cost of 5 packets of cigarettes or 9 pints of lager – it is possible to start building up savings for the future.  All the evidence shows that the earlier you start to save the less you have to put away each month.  Leave it too late and you’ll have to start saving a lot more.”

IMA’s Monthly Savings fact sheet is attached here.

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For further information, please contact:
Helen Stephenson, Communications Officer, IMA, 020 7831 0898

Out of hours contact:
Mona Patel, Head of Consumer Affairs, IMA, 07834 089332

Notes to Editors:-

1. Based on £20 invested per month over 20 years in the average UK All Companies investment fund.
2. The research was conducted between 20th and 22nd September 2005.  YouGov interviewed a sample of 2002 individuals representative of all GB adults.  The survey was carried out online.  Results were weighted to be representative of all GB 18+ adults.
3. The survey asked about average monthly spend on:- lottery ticket/scratch cards, magazines, mobile phone, digital/cable/satellite TV, buying/hiring DVDs/videos, alcohol and cigarettes.
4. The price for a pint of lager (£2.43) and packet of cigarettes (20 king size filter, £4.57) were taken from Average retail prices of selected items for 16 August 2005, Source National Statistics.