Millions of people are being forced to give up their once-treasured hobbies because they can’t afford to carry on, new research out this week has found.
A survey1 for Santander Current Accounts has discovered that £18.4bn is spent annually on hobbies, equivalent to £384 per person with a hobby.
But nearly one in four (24 per cent) say costs have risen by up to 25 per cent in the past year, with more than a third (36 per cent) agreeing costs have increased. And one in 10 – equivalent to nearly five million people – has had to give up their hobby entirely because they can’t afford to do it anymore2.
The research found 30 per cent of Britons say reading is their top hobby, followed by watching TV (23 per cent), travel (22 per cent) and gardening/horticulture (16 per cent).
UK’s top five hobbies
Hobby/pastime
% who rate this as their main hobby/pastime
Reading
30%
Watching TV
23%
Travel
22%
Gardening/horticulture
16%
Music/games/toys
14%
Matt Hall, head of banking at Santander, said: “It’s interesting that reading as a hobby has stood the test of time, despite the growing popularity of television. Their popularity is perhaps because they are relatively low cost.
“From our research we can see some people are giving up their hobbies due to cost, which is obviously a shame for them. But there are ways that they could make their money go further. Santander’s 1|2|3 Current Account pays cashback on essential household bills paid by direct debit – water, gas, electricity, council tax and Santander mortgages – which means you get extra money in your pocket for doing something you do anyway.”
Britain’s hobbies – the vital statistics
Although the full list of hobbies varies considerably by region and age, reading was the number one pastime across almost all categories.
The exceptions were among men where a larger percentage states travel as a pastime, and in London and Scotland, where a higher proportion of respondents opted for TV as their favourite hobby than reading.
Proving that hobbies really do stand the test of time, the average length of time respondents claimed to have enjoyed their main pastime was 19 years.
The results highlight an appetite amongst Brits to enjoy more pastimes but a lack of funds to do so. Two in five (41 per cent) of those with hobbies say they would like to take up further hobbies if they had the money and one in 10 (10 per cent) have had to give up a hobby because of the cost.
While many have restricted the amount of money invested in hobbies, Brits are not afraid to invest significant amounts of time in them. Almost a third (32 per cent) with a hobby admit to spending more time on their hobby than they do socialising and just under a quarter (23 per cent) say the same in comparison to time spent with their family.
The results also highlight a number of childhood hobbies left behind. Collecting stamps is the most popular hobby enjoyed by Brits as children, cited by 26 per cent. This is followed by team sports (20 per cent) and playing a musical instrument (13 per cent).
Santander’s new TV ad campaign
Hobbies are central to Santander’s new TV adverts, which feature Jessica Ennis-Hill enjoying a spot of dog-grooming, while Jenson Button engages in some pottery, and Rory McIlroy gets floury attempting to bake an apple pie.
123 Current Account pays cashback on household direct debits
• 1% cashback on water, council tax and Santander mortgages
• 2% cashback on electricity and gas
• 3% on mobile, home phone, broadband, paid-for TV packages
123 Current Account also pays in-credit interest
• 1% AER on the entire balance, once the customer’s balance is £1,000 or over
• 2% AER on the entire balance, once the customer’s balance is £2,000 or over
• 3% AER on the entire balance, once the customer’s balance is £3,000 or over (up to £20,000)
Notes:
1. Survey conducted by Opinium Research, 13–15 August 2013.
2. 95% of people surveyed said they have a hobby. The adult population of the UK = 50,371,000, of which Santander has calculated 95% = 47,852,450 x £384 = total annual spend of £18,375,340,800. Of those, 10% say they have had to give up a hobby = 4,785,245, Santander has calculated.
Hobby/pastime
% of people who rate this as their main hobby/pastime
Reading
30%
Watching TV
23%
Travel
22%
Gardening/horticulture
16%
Music, games, toys
14%
Cookery baking
12%
Socialising, eating out, clubbing
12%
Individual sport e.g. cycling, running
11%
Going to the cinema/theatre/concerts/gigs
11%
Crosswords/Sudoku/other puzzles
10%
Shopping
9%
Visiting museums, galleries cultural activities
9%
Photography, arts crafts
8%
Gaming
7%
Food or wine
7%
Looking for money-saving tips and deals
6%
Knitting/crochet/haberdashery
6%
Playing a team sport
5%
Golf
4%
Dancing
4%
Playing a musical instrument
4%
Fishing
3%
Antiques
2%
Bird watching
2%
Stamp collecting
2%
Adventure sports
2%
Performing arts
2%
Coins/currency
2%
Art, posters, comics
2%
Model-making
1%