Published by Gbaf News
Posted on December 6, 2017
8 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
We all look forward to the little luxuries in life, whether that’s enjoying a meal out, paying someone to clean your car or treating yourself to a manicure. However, these ‘little’ costs can soon add up and before long your monthly indulgences can cost you hours’ worth of your hard-earned cash.
To highlight the value of our little luxuries, pensions advice specialist Portafina, asked the nation how they spend their disposable income and can reveal how much our occasional treats are costing us – both financially and in the number of hours we work.
The ten most popular luxuries Brits treat themselves to monthly are (and average cost per purchase):
After identifying how much Brits spend on their favourite luxuries, Portafina looked at some of the most common occupations across the country, comparing their hourly rate and the average amount people spend on their indulgences. [1]
Overall, the occupations that have to work the longest to afford all of life’s little luxuries* are those in consumer-facing roles such as retail assistants and bar staff.
The five occupations which have to work the longest to pay for the top three most popular little luxuries are (based on hourly take-home pay**):
The most expensive and popular luxury that over a third (37%) of Brits buy monthly is a new outfit, costing on average £29.05. To afford this, sales/retail and bar workers would have to work 3 hours and 23 minutes and 4 hours 7 minutes respectively, compared to solicitors and managers/directors who would have to work only 1 hour and 22 minutes or 1 hours 25 minutes respectively.
The cheapest luxury that over a quarter (26%) of British workers buy monthly is a coffee and cake at a café, amounting on average, to £11.31 each time they indulge. Those in teaching and educational professions and business, media and public services both have to work for 38 minutes and 40 minutes respectively to afford this luxury.
For a bit of fun, Portafina also looked at how long some of the biggest house-hold names in the UK would need to work to afford the top three most popular luxuries. Comedian and TV host, James Corden, on his annual £3 million salary would only have to work for 2 minutes and 38 seconds to afford the top three most popular luxuries. Champion tennis player, Andy Murray, earns a cool £17.3 million yearly meaning that to afford these popular extras, he would only have to work for about 27 seconds! [2]
Commenting on the research, Jamie Smith-Thompson, managing director at Portafina said:
“So, buying a new outfit is the number one little luxury we treat ourselves to each month. I clearly need to go shopping more!
“While there are no great surprises on the rest of the list, getting an idea of how much we are spending on non-essentials is a valuable exercise, especially when we are faced with the cold reality of how many hours we’ve had to work to get them.
“And when essential outgoings eat a big chunk of our take-home pay each month before we even get a chance to see it, the money that’s left becomes even more valuable.
“That’s why taking a few minutes to work out your disposable income and what you spend this money on can make you even smarter when it comes to managing your finances. And if you can cut back on a few of those luxuries now, it should mean you have more money to keep treating yourself, and your family, in the future. Life should be for living, after all.”
To read more about the research and see the key findings visualised, visit our blog here: https://www.portafina.co.uk/blog/Brits-top-treats-how-do-you-compare
We all look forward to the little luxuries in life, whether that’s enjoying a meal out, paying someone to clean your car or treating yourself to a manicure. However, these ‘little’ costs can soon add up and before long your monthly indulgences can cost you hours’ worth of your hard-earned cash.
To highlight the value of our little luxuries, pensions advice specialist Portafina, asked the nation how they spend their disposable income and can reveal how much our occasional treats are costing us – both financially and in the number of hours we work.
The ten most popular luxuries Brits treat themselves to monthly are (and average cost per purchase):
After identifying how much Brits spend on their favourite luxuries, Portafina looked at some of the most common occupations across the country, comparing their hourly rate and the average amount people spend on their indulgences. [1]
Overall, the occupations that have to work the longest to afford all of life’s little luxuries* are those in consumer-facing roles such as retail assistants and bar staff.
The five occupations which have to work the longest to pay for the top three most popular little luxuries are (based on hourly take-home pay**):
The most expensive and popular luxury that over a third (37%) of Brits buy monthly is a new outfit, costing on average £29.05. To afford this, sales/retail and bar workers would have to work 3 hours and 23 minutes and 4 hours 7 minutes respectively, compared to solicitors and managers/directors who would have to work only 1 hour and 22 minutes or 1 hours 25 minutes respectively.
The cheapest luxury that over a quarter (26%) of British workers buy monthly is a coffee and cake at a café, amounting on average, to £11.31 each time they indulge. Those in teaching and educational professions and business, media and public services both have to work for 38 minutes and 40 minutes respectively to afford this luxury.
For a bit of fun, Portafina also looked at how long some of the biggest house-hold names in the UK would need to work to afford the top three most popular luxuries. Comedian and TV host, James Corden, on his annual £3 million salary would only have to work for 2 minutes and 38 seconds to afford the top three most popular luxuries. Champion tennis player, Andy Murray, earns a cool £17.3 million yearly meaning that to afford these popular extras, he would only have to work for about 27 seconds! [2]
Commenting on the research, Jamie Smith-Thompson, managing director at Portafina said:
“So, buying a new outfit is the number one little luxury we treat ourselves to each month. I clearly need to go shopping more!
“While there are no great surprises on the rest of the list, getting an idea of how much we are spending on non-essentials is a valuable exercise, especially when we are faced with the cold reality of how many hours we’ve had to work to get them.
“And when essential outgoings eat a big chunk of our take-home pay each month before we even get a chance to see it, the money that’s left becomes even more valuable.
“That’s why taking a few minutes to work out your disposable income and what you spend this money on can make you even smarter when it comes to managing your finances. And if you can cut back on a few of those luxuries now, it should mean you have more money to keep treating yourself, and your family, in the future. Life should be for living, after all.”
To read more about the research and see the key findings visualised, visit our blog here: https://www.portafina.co.uk/blog/Brits-top-treats-how-do-you-compare
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