Spending quiet nights at home with close friends is worth £951.60 per year according to new research. This amount is not just what you’ll save by denying yourself the pleasures of Chiswick’s many gyms, bars and restaurants etc.
An AXA study, part of the Little Things Mean A Lot campaign, has found that despite having 103 Facebook friends, 49 acquaintances and four close mates, the average person will only ever have two best friends, and for a quarter (27 per cent) of people that’s their mum.
• People have an average of two best friends, four close friends and 49 acquaintances.
• UK’s closest friends spend 25 hours a month socialising and 14 hours keeping in touch via text, calls and social media.
• More men said they were closest to their mum (29 per cent) then they were to their partners (26 per cent).
Time vs money
While true friends may be priceless, the study found people spend over £13 a month on treats for each of their closest friends. Over the course of a year this amounts to £951.60 on picking out the perfect gifts, shouting friends for a round of drinks at the pub or even stepping in to babysit when a night away from the kids was needed.
• The kind gesture of ferrying friends around town also saves best mates an average of £129.604 on petrol every year and only three in 10 (29 per cent) would ever dream of asking their travel companions to contribute towards the cost.
• Despite being increasingly time-poor, best friends will dedicate around 25 hours a month to spending time in each others company.
• Little things like a quiet night in while catching up over a home-cooked dinner and drinks meant the most (an average of five hours a month).
Jo Newman, Head of Campaign Management,
AXA: “It has been said that loyal friends are worth their weight in gold. Whilst our closest friends might be there for us when we need a little financial assistance or lifts around town, it’s encouraging to see that, for most, the little things like a night in together can mean a lot.”
In the online world of many friends and acquaintances, it is interesting to see that in the ‘real world’ the number of best friends still remains traditionally low. But can we really put a price on them? The ideal homage to a best friendship is not money, but time: time spent talking, and time spent enjoying each other’s company.
Friendship is further nurtured by the little things that mean a lot - a meal cooked, a lift provided, or a baby-sitting service offered – and we don’t tend to measure that in financial terms.
LIttle things mean a lot.
