THE average employee spends more than a third of their wages – on payday.
A poll of 2,000 employed adults found they are quick to splash out on treats such as clothes, tech and home furnishings as more than £600 leaves their banks within three days of arriving.
And once bills such as the mortgage and utilities have gone out, the bulk of the money is gone within two weeks.
This forces those polled to be frugal for the remaining days or weeks until their next wage slip comes through.
The south east was the region that spends the most at the start of each month, with an average of £722 leaving their accounts in the first three days of pay day.
People in the south west spend the least, with an average of £544 each.
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The study was carried out by the video game developer PLAION to mark the launch of its new heist video game PAYDAY 3.
As Londoners struggle the most with money management, the developer set up a challenge inspired by the game, with winners taking part in their own 'heist' and securing a 'month’s salary', by stripping notes from a branded van.
A spokesperson said: “It can be tricky not spend your hard-earned cash all at once, especially at a time when most expenditures are completely unavoidable.
“We can certainly understand the temptation of wanting to rob a bank to get that much needed injection of cash.
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“However, disposable income won’t get you far behind bars, we suggest that the heisting fantasy is best left experienced in video games.”
The research also found those aged 18 to 24 spend the most on takeaways each month compared to those aged 65 and over – £42 vs £13.
Thirty-seven per cent of adults admitted to being guilty of over-spending at the start of the month, meaning they have to keep their purse strings tight for the remaining days.
Of the 67% who have borrowed money – excluding loans – a quarter have one extra income-drain every month, while 12% are paying back on two loans.
The average adult estimates 21.5% of their monthly salary is what they’d consider to be disposable income.
But 41% have a tendency to buy things that aren’t really necessary to their life – with an average of nearly £60 a month spent on these items.
For 21%, a TV package like Sky or Virgin is seen as an expense they could probably live without, while the same percentage could do without takeaways.
And 25% believe they spend more than they really need to on clothing.
The study, carried out via OnePoll, found just 15% of adults consider themselves "confident" when it comes to their finances, while 11% are more likely to feel stressed.
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Because of these problems stretching their money, 37% admitted that if they could rob a bank and be guaranteed to get away with it – they’d do it.
And their perfect heist dream team would include Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson as the muscle, Lewis Hamilton as the getaway driver and Derren Brown to hypnotise bank guards into letting them get away with the cash.
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