People ‘spent more on charities, holidays and household bills in March’

People spent more money on charities, holidays and household bills in March, data from Nationwide Building Society has found.

The Society tracked millions of credit, debit card and direct debit transactions made by its members last month. It revealed transactions during March jumped by 15% compared with February – from around 190 million to just over 217 million – with a total of nearly £8.1 billion spent.

The number of transactions on non-essentials passed 90 million in March for the first time this year. There were 14% more transactions on non-essentials in March compared with the previous month, Nationwide said.

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Holiday, airline travel and cruises spending continues to see growth as people plan for, or take, what may be their first trip abroad since the coronavirus pandemic started, it added. Spending on charities also saw a significant rise in March, both compared to February (up 44% by value) and the same period last year (up 45% by value).

The increase includes significant contributions to charities supporting Ukraine, Nationwide said. Essential spending also increased by 11% by value compared with March 2021.

Fuel and electric car charging spending was up by more than half (56%) in by value compared with March last year, reflecting the high price of petrol and diesel, Nationwide said. There was also a 15% increase in supermarket spending in March compared with February as the rising cost of food and drink continued to bite.

Spending on utilities and bills was 10% higher by value than a year earlier, Nationwide added. It said it is urging those who are struggling financially to get in touch with their bank or building society if they need additional