Brits underestimate cost of life’s big events by 124K pounds

LONDON - It has emerged that Britons are underestimating the cost of life’s major events by at least 124,000 pounds.

A research carried out on behalf on HSBC revealed that the average person thinks getting married, having children and other key milestones, such as going to university, buying their first home, car and sending a child to university, will cost them around 190,000 pounds.

But in reality they are more likely to cost 124,000 pounds more at 314,000 pounds, reports the Daily Mail.

People are most likely to underestimate the cost of raising their first child, with Britons guessing this would set them back by around 86,000 pounds, when in reality it is more likely to cost 202,000 pounds.

Consumers also thought the bill for a wedding would come in at around 8,600 pounds, rather than just under 20,000 pounds, while at 11,000 pounds they also underestimated how much debt they would leave university with by nearly 9,000 pounds.

But the majority of people correctly guessed that sending a child to university would cost around 41,000 pounds and they thought they would need to spend 5,000 pounds on their first car, when people typically spend only around 2,500 pounds.

Consumers also thought they would have to put down 38,000 pounds as a deposit on their first home, rather than the 29,000 pounds typically put down by first-time buyers.

“Life’s big events can be expensive and many who are yet to undergo them are significantly underestimating the costs involved,” said Richard Brown, head of savings at HSBC.

“The reality is that some people may have to postpone some of these key milestones unless they fully understand the budgetary implications and start planning their finances or saving earlier,” he added. (ANI)