A quarter of Britons who have lent money to a friend said the cash was needed to help cover household bills, a study said today.
Some 23% of people surveyed for mobile payments app Barclays Pingit said their friend needed help with their regular household outgoings.
The findings follow a string of price hikes recently announced by energy firms amid soaring rents and increases to some mortgage costs.
About one in 10 (11%) of people who had lent money in the survey said their friend needed the money to buy petrol.
Recent figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that squeezed families' weekly spending rose to a new high last year, with households shelling out over three times more on petrol-related costs than on fresh fruit and vegetables.
Nearly three-quarters of people (71%) surveyed by Barclays said they had lent cash to a friend and they were typically willing to part with £59.
Some 26% said they had lent the cash to pay for their mate's night-out and 5% did so to help them pay for their Christmas presents.
More than 2,000 people were interviewed across the UK last month for the study.
