Why 31 will be the most expensive year of your life (2024)

• Credit score website ClearScore has worked out the most expensive age on average is 31.
• This is when you're likely to be getting married, having children, or saving for a house.
• To afford everything, the typical 31-year-old needs to save about $59,300 (£43,000).

Plenty of young people can relate to dealing with how expensive life is. But even when your 20s are over, and you're likely to be making more money, things aren't about to get easier.

Credit check company ClearScore surveyed 3,000 people and found that the most expensive year of your life will be 31.

It turns out that growing up and taking on more responsibility comes at a cost, with the typical 31-year-old needing to save as much as £43,000 ($60,000) to cover the cost of things like weddings and babies.

Overall, ClearScore found that the biggest expenses at this age are getting married (27%), buying a house (25%), having a baby (20%), and paying for a honeymoon (14%).

About 60% of those surveyed had savings to pay for everything, while 33% of 25 to 34 year olds still relied on their parents to help them out. Just 14% of people over age 55 said their parents helped them financially.

Future financial worries of 30-somethings included saving for retirement, saving money at all, and having enough financial stability to support children.

Hitting the credit card

With millennials being worse off than the previous generation — lower income growth and being less likely to ever own a house — it's not that surprising that the survey also found the use of credit has changed between the generations.

Some 20% of under 34 year olds said they use credit to fund big purchases, compared to just 8% of over-55s.

People taking part in the survey tended to agree that millennials are having a tough time financially, with 51% of 25-34 year olds and 57% of over 55s believing this to be true.

"Many of life's big milestones tend to happen very close together so we weren't shocked to discover how much people were spending during their most expensive year," said Justin Basini, the chief executive of ClearScore.