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Agony Aunt Nation: Brits dish out over 6,000 hours of life guidance

Press Release - 07 December 2015

New research reveals Britain is a nation of agony aunts, with the average Brit dishing out 6,000 hours of wisdom in a lifetime.

The study, which drew on the experience of 2,000 UK adults aged 18 – 45, found that people spend nearly 100 hours every year asking friends and family for advice and support.

This means across the country people are spending the equivalent of 12 working days every year seeking reassurance from family and friends on topics from relationships and fitness to salaries and budgeting.

The research by Amigo the guarantor loans provider found that if the UK’s part-time agony aunts billed their time at an average hourly wage, this would amount to a staggering £70K* worth of advice over a lifetime.

The top issues people seek advice on are relationships and cooking, closely followed by gardening, health and budgeting.

Who do you turn to for advice?

When it comes to budgeting and savings advice, partners are the preferred source of wisdom closely followed by Dads, and then Mums. Partners are also the top dogs for guidance on property decisions and careers, offering 35 hours’ of handholding a year.

Parents offer out 30 hours of advice and counselling a year, with Mum by far the most popular choice contributing 18 hours, opposed to Dads only offering 12. Mum is the UK’s go to adviser on topics such as gardening, cooking, and health.

Best for fitness advice

Best for cooking advice

Best for savings and budgeting advice

Best for relationship advice

Friends are top for giving advice on relationships, fashion and fitness. Our pals, on average, hand out 18 hours of advice a year.

Glen Crawford CEO of Amigo Loans, which commissioned the study said:

Our customers rightly use their friends and family to talk about their finances and lean on them for advice. Our experience tells us this is a healthy approach to borrowing and works well. It's because of these relationships, and advice offered by friends and family, that we've been able to help thousands of people change their lives whether it be starting a new business, going back to university or improving their homes.

Notes to editors:

All figures unless otherwise stated taken from research by OnePoll Research in June 2015, weighted to nationally representative criteria across 2,000 UK adults.

* Calculation of £70k worth of advice

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