If our wallet could speak it would tell us that the body is not a temple…or even a three bed semi. In fact, it ranks low in our spending priorities, as new research from The Woolwich, the UK’s fourth largest mortgage lender, reveals that DIY-obsessed Britons spend over three times more on home improvements than they do on self improvements – clothing, pampering treatments, health and fitness.

The study reveals Britons spent on average £2,700 on their home in the last twelve months (that’s 50 per cent more than a month’s average pay) and just £880 on themselves.

Where the money goes

• In the last 12 months Britons were 50 per cent more likely to have spent on paint and wallpaper than on designer clothes (72 per cent invested in decorating materials while just 48 per cent splashed out on labels).
• The British public are almost twice as likely to have had double glazing than cosmetic enhancements such as Botox (15 per cent had new windows while 9 per cent had aesthetic treatments).
• We were twice as likely to have spent on new furniture than nutrition advice or products (53 per cent compared to 28 per cent).
• We were more likely to have spent on our garden than our hair (41 per cent spent compared to 37 per cent).
• One in three invested in bathroom or kitchen improvements while only one in four has a gym membership.
• And Britons are likelier to have expanded their living space through a loft extension or conservatory than have gone on a break to a spa or health farm (8 per cent compared to 6 per cent).

The pleasure principle

• Just as we’re likelier to spend on decorating than designer clothes, DIY tops shopping as 'the most pleasurable way of spending money' – transforming the home with professional design advice comes top of the list (41 per cent) over blowing cash on a clothes spree (38 per cent).
• Spending money on an extension (29 per cent) or kitchen or bathroom revamp (24 per cent) is more than four times as popular as spending on improving personal appearance (6 per cent) and even beats investing in health and fitness (27 per cent).

Stop going to the gym if you want to tighten the belt

• If short of cash, gym membership would be the first thing Britons would axe – for half of us, it topped the list of expenditures to be ditched if times were hard.
• The garden would be next for the chop (47 per cent) followed by furniture and gadgets (45 per cent); decorating plans (42 per cent); and hair and skincare (39 per cent).
• It is our clothes spending which we would hang onto longest with only 30 per cent of people ranking this in their top three to sacrifice.

Footing the bill

When it comes to funding these purchases, little surprise that Britons prefer to pay for 'fast feel good' self-improvement spends with disposable income – 80 per cent paid for 'self' spends by cash or cheque.

However, bigger pots of money in the form of personal savings (58 per cent), personal loans (8 per cent), a cash windfall (9 per cent) and even borrowing against a mortgage (7 per cent) are being used to foot the bill for costly DIY projects.

Commenting on the research, Woolwich Head of Mortgages, Andy Gray said:

"This is the busiest time of year for the big DIY purchases. Our research shows just how much of a national pastime this has become.”

“Not only are people more likely to buy a tin of paint and a roll of wallpaper than a designer suit and shoes, they're also telling us that they get more pleasure from designer DIY than being let loose in the clothes shops.”

“This is reflected in the huge increase over the last few years in the number of customers seeking money for home improvements – whether through savings, loans or remortgages."

Key regional variations

• Contrary to their 'image conscious' stereotype, Londoners failed to top the nationwide league table (see below) as the region most likely to spend on pampering and self-improvement products. Instead, West Midlanders spent the most on themselves (although only half of their spend on home-related purchases) while the North East spent the least.
• East Midlanders are the ultimate nest-builders, topping the nationwide league of spending on the home. But despite meteoric house prices in London and the South East and a continuing trend for homeowners to spend on home improvements rather than moving, these regions ranked low on the 'home spend' league table.

• Scots are half as likely as the rest of the UK to have had a loft conversion or extension last year and least likely to use a cash windfall or personal loan on home improvements.
• 'Image improvement' for both home and body is popular in the North East, where residents are twice as likely to have spent on both cosmetic enhancement and double glazing compared to the rest of the country.
• Yorkshire and Humberside is a decorating hotspot, with more people there buying paint and wallpaper than anywhere else.
• North Westerners are least likely to have spent on designer clothes or hair colouring and treatments last year…but are also least likely to have spent on furniture either.
• East Midlanders are twice as likely to spend more than £10K on DIY projects. But they are also three times likelier to spend on a health farm break.
• Cost Conscious Welsh are likeliest to give up the gym if times were hard, with furniture and gadgets being the last spend to get the chop. More people here spent on the garden last year than the rest of the UK but overall they spent the least on the home (£2437 on average).
• Health-mad South Easterners are most likely to opt for gym membership and a personal trainer as their pleasure purchase - but more here chose a kitchen and bathroom refurb too. And they are only half as likely as average to spend on double glazing.
• Space-hungry Londoners are a third likelier to opt for a loft extension as the ultimate pleasure purchase and are most likely to spend on new furniture. However, they are also 50 per cent more likely to have had a manicure or pedicure last year. Rather than save, they are a third more likely to use a credit card and twice as likely to use a cash windfall to fund home-related purchases.
• Green fingered South Westerners are least likely to choose image-improving products or treatments as their pleasure purchase and are also least likely to give up spending on their garden if times were hard.