The 'sandwich generation' supporting both parents and children feels guilty about spending money on themselves

Two in five “sandwich generation” Brits feel bad for spending £50 on themselves. Photo: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire/PA Images

“Sandwich generation” Brits feel guilty for spending money on themselves as they struggle to support both their kids and their parents, according to new statistics.

Research by the Skipton Building Society found that people between the ages of 40 and 65 — known as the “sandwich generation” — are finding it increasingly hard to find money for themselves. In a survey of over 1,000 sandwich generation Brits, two in five (39%) said they feel guilty for spending £50 or more on treating themselves.

When asked why they feel guilty about spending money on themselves, 25% of people said that they should be “saving this money to spend on supporting their children.” This was the most common response.

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Sandwich generation Brits often struggle to justify spending money on themselves as the cost of supporting their families rises, the survey revealed. Almost two in five (37%) respondents said the money they’ve spent on their children has increased in the last five years, while 13% said the same about spending on their older relatives.

Perhaps as a result, many members of the sandwich generation do not have large sums in savings. In fact, people between the ages of 40 and 45 only have £7,278.40 on average. Those with savings of £5,000 or more (21%) are the least likely to have feelings of guilt when spending on themselves, the survey found.

Significantly, 18% of sandwich generation Brits said they pay for their children’s subscriptions to streaming services, including video streaming services (63%) such as Netflix and Amazon Prime, or music streaming apps (41%) like Spotify and Apple Music.

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Despite family pressures impacting money and time, the sandwich generation remains ambitious in their life goals. Almost one in five (17%) survey respondents said they would sacrifice spending on clothes to achieve their biggest life ambitions.

Adventure holidays and cruising topped later life ambitions (21%), with those between the ages of 61 and 65 the most likely to want to travel abroad for an extensive period of time (28%). Buying a car (19%) and attending more concerts (18%) were also rated as important lifestyle goals.

When it came to career, many aspired to improve their life management, with 26% citing work-life balance as an area they’d like to refine.