The cost of meeting 'life goals'
The average couple need to stump up the best part of £900,000 in order to meet their 'life goals' according to a new report from Lloyds Bank.
The bank's Family Savings report breaks down the total costs for four key lifetime events: getting married, buying a house, having children and enjoying a comfortable retirement.
Here's how the costs of these life goals vary by region. All of the figures below are an average according to Lloyds' research.
Region | Cost of getting married | Cost of a three-bed semi-detached house | Cost of two babies (first-year costs only) | Retirement fund for average standard of living | Total cost |
London | £18,209 | £371,812 | £7,483 | £837,054 | £1,234,560 |
South East | £14,063 | £258,333 | £7,054 | £785,221 | £1,064,671 |
East of England | £12,429 | £221,970 | £6,455 | £723,778 | £964,631 |
South West | £9,243 | £189,700 | £6,227 | £698,734 | £903,904 |
Northern Ireland | £8,912 | £104,550 | £6,395 | £712,566 | £832,425 |
North West | £9,192 | £141,722 | £5,790 | £646,464 | £803,169 |
East Midlands | £9,796 | £136,143 | £5,842 | £650,686 | £802,468 |
Scotland | £8,736 | £146,430 | £5,766 | £641,514 | £802,446 |
West Midlands | £12,011 | £149,625 | £5,512 | £618,218 | £785,366 |
Yorks & The Humber | £10,174 | £132,583 | £5,330 | £597,106 | £745,194 |
Wales | £10,119 | £130,836 | £5,171 | £579,779 | £725,905 |
North East | £7,177 | £130,291 | £5,039 | £559,395 | £701,902 |
UK | £11,168 | £174,429 | £6,138 | £685,339 | £877,074 |
Source: Lloyds
How we fund these life goals
The Lloyds report suggests the average couple has to borrow exactly half of the money they spend on their wedding, though 43% manage to fund the wedding entirely from savings. Almost one in ten borrow all of the money spent on the wedding.
Almost three quarters (73%) manage to avoid borrowing to help with baby costs entirely, with the average parent only needing to borrow 9% of the money spent in the first year.
The importance of saving early
The Lloyds report makes clear how important saving early in life really is if you want to own your home outright or hold investments.
Financial history | Percentage currently owning home outright | Percentage currently owning non-cash investments (shares, unit trusts, etc) |
Started saving seriously before 25 | 55% | 60% |
Started saving seriously between 26 and 33 | 48% | 56% |
Started saving seriously at 34 or later | 35% | 40% |
Never saved regularly | 18% | 23% |
Source: Lloyds
Planning to pay for your life goals
Whether it's a wedding, starting a family, buying a home or ensuring you have a comfortable retirement, being prepared for the future and taking stock of your financial position regularly should help you cut the eventual cost of achieving your goals.
That means working out exactly what you are worth, how much money is coming in each month, where it's going and if it's doing what you want it to do.
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