Is your budget braced for any nasty surprise bills?

LIFE doesn't always go according to plan, and unforeseen expenses can hit anyone at any time.

- LISA SALMON ASKS FINANCIAL EXPERTS WHAT UNEXPECTED EXPENSES PEOPLE NEED TO BE PREPARED FOR, AND HOW MUCH THEY SHOULD PUT ASIDE TO COVER THEM

Of course, if you're rolling in money, shock payments aren't a problem. But as that's not the case for the majority of people, if the car or the washing machine breaks down, or you get a speeding fine, you have to find the money from somewhere.

That's when you need an emergency fund.

A new survey by the banking app thinkmoney found the average Brit has to fork out for at least two shock bills a year, spending an average of £776 annually on these charges.

The car breaking down (44%) was the most common unforeseen expense, with broken washing machines (37%) coming second and dental work (28%) third.

Needing an emergency plumber or electrician came next (26%), alongside boiler breakdowns (26%) and increasingly expensive vets' bills (25%). Other common financial hits were smashed phone screens (21%), parking fines (20%) and roof leaks (18%).

Some 42% of the 2,000 British adults polled dipped in to savings to meet unforeseen expenses, while 20% put it on a credit card, and one in 10 borrowed cash from friends and family. Just 6% used their overdraft, while 3% either took out a loan, found extra work or used a buy now pay later scheme.

"With the cost of living continuing to bite into budgets, a financial setback is the last thing you need and, as a result, it's easy to bury your head in the sand and hope it won't happen to you," says Vix Leyton, a consumer expert at thinkmoney.