BETWEEN BARBECUES, TRIPS to the beach and the search for the ever-elusive paddling pools, a lot of people ended up spending more money than they usually would during the recent heatwave.

A new study has found that more that one third of people increased their spending during those balmy days as temperatures hit the high 20s across the country.

Unsurprisingly, people with young children (47 per cent) and adults aged between 25 and 34 (45 per cent) were the most likely groups to spend more money in the warm weather.

The most popular unplanned expenses – because not a lot of people had planned for actual warm weather during the summer, obviously – proved to be daytrips and outings, followed by summer barbecues and new furniture or equipment for gardens, according to the Millward Brown study carried out for KBC Bank.

“Saving for a rainy day turned into saving for a sunny day during the last quarter, which made for a welcome change in Ireland,” said Dara Deering of KBC Bank Ireland.

The survey also looked at saving and found that 79 per cent of people in Ireland have a savings account, with €223 the average amount of money saved per month.

A recent study by the Central Statistics Office found that eight out of ten households in Ireland have reduced their spending during the recession.

Read: Almost everyone has cut spending as a result of recession >

Read: The average Irish worker earns €36,079, €174 more than in 2011 >

Read: Fall in personal loans and holiday home mortgages as households pay off debt >

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