Ever wondered how much cash you could save if you only followed through with your New Year's resolutions?
Now experts at online price tracking website www.alertr.co.uk have conducted research to uncover just how much Britons could save by sticking to their resolutions through the whole of 2021.
The most common New Year’s resolutions were found to be ‘save money’ (82%), ‘lose weight’ (74%), ‘stop buying takeaways’ (62%), ‘take part in Dry January’ (58%) and quit smoking (23%).
Just one in five (21%) admitted that they had not set themselves any New Year’s resolutions, with 85% of those admitting it was because 2020 had been rough and they didn’t want to add to the misery by restricting certain areas of their lives.
All those with a New Year’s resolution were then asked to state how much they spent on the habits they were trying to kick for January, with the below revealing how much they would be able to save if they were to give them up successfully for the entire month of January:
1. Save money – monthly saving of £100
2. Lose weight – monthly saving of £20
3. Stop buying takeaways – monthly saving of £120
4. Take part in Dry January – monthly saving of £60
5. Quit smoking – monthly saving of £80
Based on the number of Britons who were choosing to attempt each New Year’s resolution and the monthly saving they’d make if they were successful with their attempts (taking into account that there are 50,909,098 adults aged 18+ living in the UK), the data also revealed how much UK residents could look to save as a collective if they continued with their attempts throughout the whole of 2021, extending them past the month of January:
1. Save money – £50,094,552,432.00
2. Lose weight – £9,041,455,804.80
3. Stop buying takeaways – £45,451,642,694.40
4. Take part in Dry January – £21,259,639,324.80
5. Quit smoking – £11,240,728,838.40
This amounts to a collective saving of £137,088.019,094.40, should everyone successfully tackle every resolution for the entire year.
It was found, however, that more than three-fifths (61%) had already given up their New Year’s resolutions by the middle of January, with January 12 found to be the most common day to give up.
When asked why they had given up on their resolutions so early in the month, three quarters (76%) cited the ongoing global pandemic and the news surrounding it to be the biggest factor.
Andy Barr, co-founder of www.alertr.co.uk, said: “New Year’s resolutions are hard to follow at the best of times, but especially this year where everyone is feeling depleted and not their usual bright selves.
"If you were unable to stick to your New Year’s resolutions this year, don’t beat yourself up about it and just try again later in the year.
"Hopefully by highlighting here how much you could be saving, you’ll find the motivation to want to try again, whether in February or later in the year.”
