UK Households Unearth More Than £3.79 Billion in Lost Change & Foreign Currency Each Year

A UK study has revealed that the average British home harbours more than £140 in “lost” UK sterling and foreign change. The sides of the sofa, clothing pockets and the back of drawers are the most likely areas to uncover forgotten cash. 

 

New research has found that Britons have three different types of foreign currency at home from previous trips abroad at any one time. Euros, US Dollars and Turkish Lira were revealed as the most common kinds of international notes and coins unknowingly hidden in the average UK property. 

The team at www.web-blinds.com polled 2,948 British adults aged 18 and over as part of the study into hidden finances of the average UK home. Participants polled were spread evenly across each of the UK regions, with all those taking part currently renting or owning their own property. 

Firstly, all respondents were asked how often they found loose change (UK or foreign notes and coins) in unexpected areas of their home, with the vast majority (93%) admitting that this happened to them on weekly basis. When these individuals were then asked to estimate how much was found during each discovery, the average amount emerged as £2.70, equating to £140.40 over the course of a year. Taking into account the total number of households within the UK (27.1 million*) this would equate to £3.79 billion found across the entirety of British homes each year. 

Everyone taking part was then given an extensive list of possible answers and asked to state the areas that they’d previously uncovered forgotten change (coins and/or notes) in their homes, with the five most common answers emerging as follows: 

1.       Down the side of a sofa/under cushions – 72%

2.       Inside clothes pockets – 64%

3.       At the back of drawers – 49%

4.       Under the bed – 22%

5.       Inside pots and/or ornaments (e.g. vases) – 16%

Participants were given the option of ‘other’ in order to add in some of the more unusual locations they’d found hidden change in their homes. From this, researchers uncovered that a total of nine participants had found loose change hidden in a pet’s bed, while seven respondents managed to retrieve money that had been dropped into their toilet bowl. 

When asked if foreign currency from travelling abroad had been amongst the loose change found around their home within the last year, more than three quarters of respondents (77%) admitted that it had been. Of these, the majority (84%) stated that they’d forgotten they had the currency following their return from foreign trips, as there wasn’t enough to convert back into UK sterling. The most common foreign currencies unearthed in UK homes emerged as Euros (78%), US Dollars (23%) and Turkish Lira (19%).

Kirsty O’Sullivan, spokesperson for web-blinds.com, said:

“Finding a little unexpected treasure at the bottom of your sock drawer or down the side of your sofa can be a thrill – depending on how much you discover.” 

And with that, we encourage you to have a rummage behind your sofas, under the bed and definitely under where ‘X’ marks the spot in your garden (who knew that was there?). And if you happen to come across those coins that you have no use for, then why not give us a call, so we can help you shift that unwanted currency!

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