Aberdeen’s spending money is up with more billionaires per head than London

Recent claims say that Aberdeen the highest increase in disposable income compared to the top 40 towns and cities in the UK.

The amount to spend that Aberdonians have has increased by a fifth according to research by UHY Hacker Young. That means that the amount of money you have to spend after bills and rent is generally more here than anywhere else.

Aberdeen now has more multibillionaires per head than London and the sells the most 4x4s than the rest of the UK.

Mo Money, less problems. According to us.

Households in the top 40 have seen an increase in their spending money by £1,761 from 2007 to the end of 2012, whereas Aberdeen has seen an increase in incomes of an average of £2,285. This  has led those who live in Aberdeen having more money to spend on luxuries.

2006 to 2011 saw Aberdeen have the highest rates of economic growth in the UK. The growth has been largely due to the oil boom which has increased business entrepreneurship across the city in all sectors.

Aberdeen’s onshore energy industry is growing too, with wind farms expanding in the Shire.

“It can be hard to imagine but Aberdeen is now part of that small group of international oil cities that have had a relatively good recession like Houston, Bahrain and Almaty,” said Colin Wright, UHY Hacker Young.

Nationally, the rise in spare cash has been a result of low interest rates which has led to the drop in mortgage costs, as wages have stagnated and not stayed in line with inflation. This, coupled with rising household costs, like rent and energy increases, above the rate of inflation has caused the tightening of purse strings.

Other research by the Scottish Friendly found that after all these costs are factored in, the average earner is left with £148 a month to spend. That means that only 10% of the typical monthly after-tax salary is up to the earner to spend as they wish, leaving them less than £5 a day to spend on holidays or days out.

Sadly, despite Britain’s economy getting stronger again, confidence amongst those surveyed is still low, as they feel that their situation would worsen over the next three months.

Consequently, we see that more people are saving their money or paying off their debts. Neil Lovatt, product director at Scottish Friendly said that “the emphasis now seems to have gone full circle and we have returned to a post war emphasis on saving and paying down debt, despite many having to deal with a very tight budget.”