A new survey has found that nearly half of UK mums are sacrificing spending on themselves to provide for their families.
The research by Ffrees found that 47% of mums were giving up their 'me time' treats and regularly choosing to spend money on the family rather than themselves.
The top 5 'me-time' treats that mums would be prepared to sacrifice for the family finances were:
1. Alcohol and Nights/Eating Out
2. Hairdressers
3. Beauty treatments
4. Clothes/shoes
5. Chocolate
Over one in ten mums said that they would give up or have already given up all of their 'me-time' treats and a fifth of mums said there's nothing they would refuse to go without.
While over a quarter of mums agreed that they and their partner were choosing to spend on their children rather than themselves, one in 10 mums also said they felt they were the only person in the family to make spending sacrifices.
One in seven believe that their partner does not sacrifice as much as they do to contribute to the family savings.
Just under a quarter of mums (24%) said they could not remember the last time they splashed out on something for themselves, while 29% said they would feel guilty if they spent money on themselves instead of putting it towards something for the kids or a family treat.
A fifth of mothers said they only pamper themselves during the sales, and most said they only spend between £11 and £20 on themselves a month.
However, there are some items that mums can't give up:
1. Make-up/beauty products
2. Good quality food - including chocolate!
3. Hairdressers
4. Coffee/tea
5. Cigarettes
Alex Letts, CEO of Ffrees.co.uk, commented: "With the first set of post-Christmas credit card bills due to land on doormats around the UK next week, it seems that it is the mums in the family who are sacrificing their small luxuries for the sake of their families."
