The first January of every New Year often includes setting resolutions, goals, and reflecting on what positive decisions we can carry over from the past year.
And by looking at Brits spending habits over the past year, it is clear we should all think about prioritising budgeting and interrogating our spending decisions.
In 2025, 38% of Brits fell into spending outside of their means, and 36% made impulsive purchases, according to a report by Aqua.
The ways in which we overspend were broken down into categories such as holidays, groceries and latest tech.
The report saw 44% of Brits overspending on beauty treatments, a financial mistake that Mel, a 20-year-old student with a passion for beauty, reflected on.
“What got me into beauty was watching my mum get ready in the mornings when I was little and then she’d always let me do mascara to make me feel included,” she said.
“I’ve always been quite artistic and I feel like makeup is a great way to express that still in my day to day life cause I genuinely think makeup is an art.”
Makeup products and skincare are a way to express your personality and features, and can often accumulate to greater expenses than we believe.
The beauty market is basked in choices of anti-aging products, skin brightening serums, ‘fixing’ potions for aspects of natural beauty we have been marketed into tending to.
But what is causing us to overspend on beauty treatments? Is it the price of the products or other factors?
Mel said: “I think social media has a huge impact on beauty, especially today, it’s so easy to get influenced by something you’ve seen work for someone else, naturally as humans we tend to be curious.
“I think it’s very normal to want to try something out especially after hearing several good things about it.”
TikTok and Instagram Reels are platforms holding the ability to entice us into hot trends or new products, especially with the current influencer culture.
These short form video sites are populated with media promoting products social media influencers are being paid to promote.
Mel said: “As an economics student I know all too well about spending habits and what effects these have. I personally think if you pick something up that you like but you’re questioning is it really that affordable? Don’t buy it.”
And this relates heavily to overconsumption, which impacts our treatment of, not only our bank accounts, but the environment also.
So, when reflecting during this month on our budgeting skills, there are healthy habits we can use to attempt to reduce our overspending and overconsumption.
Mel shared: “Needs are endless… No one should succumb to the pressure of society of instant gratification in society, especially in materialistic things because you will not find happiness in these things, as soon as you get the thing you really want I can guarantee in just a few days you’ll want the next thing!
“That’s normal! It’s in our nature as humans and for this reason you should hold back as much as you can because you know it will never be enough!”
The report by Aqua also saw 48% of Brits overspending on a night out, and 61% going over budget on clothes and fashion.
Both categories which are not completely necessary to our every day lives.
These poor habits and tapping our cards excessively can lead to financial mistakes, and poor credit scores, as 82% of UK adults wish they had learnt more about their finances sooner.
So, if you are yet to claim and decide on your New Year’s Resolution, maybe budgeting and saving your coins should be a consideration.
Featured image credit: Frugal Flyer via Unsplash
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