Lav, loo, netty, bog, just some of the names across the UK for a toilet…
It’s the smallest room in the house, yet it appears to be one of the top destinations for getting life admin done – with over a fifth (21 percent) of Brits recently polled regularly checking their bank balance on the loo, according to the findings.
Other life admin tasks Brits have done from the comfort of their toilet include the weekly shop (14 percent) and re-mortgaging (4 percent). Others admit to investing in stocks and shares (6 percent) and applying for bank loans or credit (7 percent).
More than one in ten of those polled by Lloyds (11 percent) have checked their credit score while on the toilet, while 12 percent regularly manage their apps and subscriptions – and more than one in twenty (six percent) order foreign currency, keep up with their online dating, or organise childcare. In fact, 85 percent say mobile apps have enabled them to multitask and save time when doing life admin. 83 percent go a step further and say that their phone is vital to sorting out their lives.
Yet it’s not just the bathroom where the nation gets their lives in order, as time strapped Brits are getting inventive with their multitasking. As many as one in twenty (five percent) have invested their cash post sex, while four percent have even agreed to a mortgage immediately after sex with their other half.
Gen Z are most likely to sort their finances in bed with 73 percent having checked their bank balance, 38 percent buying stocks and shares, 28 percent arranging car finance, 17 percent agreeing a mortgage in the sheets.
Other situations include doing financial admin whilst out for a meal (19 percent) or at a medical appointment (8 percent), paying friends or family back at the gym (7 percent), sorting your car finance on the commute (6 percent), applying for a loan during a work meeting (3 percent), and checking your credit score in the bath (5 percent).
The study also found that nearly half of respondents (44 percent) use their phone and apps daily to pay bills, transfer payments, book holidays and do the online shop, with Brits spending an average of 18 hours a week working their way through a list of 11 daily life admin tasks on their phone.
Almost nine in ten (86 percent) think that having finance apps on their phone has made it easier to monitor, sort out and manage their money, by allowing them to check their balance regularly (76 percent), move money between accounts (55 percent), see when bills are going to be paid (51 percent) and look up information about their account (35 percent).
Tas Bhamji, Digital Engagement Director at Lloyds:
“Technology is changing how we make day to day decisions – and its clear from the research that managing our finances is no exception With the whirlwind of everyday life, we want to make sure managing your money is as easy as possible. Our refreshed banking app puts the power of people’s finances directly in their hands.
“Whether applying for a mortgage or checking your credit score, you can do it wherever, whenever – from the comfort of your own bed, at the gym or even between meetings… we’ll just leave it up to our customers to decide whether or not it’s an appropriate time to be checking their balance!”
It’s no surprise that 36 percent say they have been caught sorting things out on their phone when they should have been concentrating on something else and 29 percent have even let something boil over on the stove. A third (33 percent) of Brits say they have a clear budget and know exactly where their money is going, while 32 percent admit they enjoy managing their money closely.
One in four (25 percent) say they are good at managing their money, with a further 18 percent revealing they are focussed on their long-term money goals and very controlled about their cash (18 percent).
*This research of 2,000 Britons was commissioned by Lloyds Bank and conducted by Perspectus Global during October 2024
