Are You Still In Debt From Christmas Last Year?

With ‘Cyber Monday’ almost upon us the frantic Christmas present buying is in full swing and yet despite best efforts some are still in debt from the festivities of last year.

According to research from VoucherCodes.co.uk, Brits in the red are sitting on an average of £1,078 worth of debt outstanding from last year’s Christmas period.

The poll of 3,000 Brits shows that some13% are still paying off credit from last year’s festivities. Given the staggering amount of Christmas related debt, this also goes some way to explain the increase in credit spending in the UK, with the average figure of adult borrowing rising to £4,247 each year.

Christmas Day alone is expected to cost some £700 so it’s highly like that many Brits will have to turn to credit cards and other forms of credit to fund their festivities. This just adds to the already outstanding debt and for a number this includes holiday debt too.

Despite their personal finance worries though, Brits are still dedicated to celebrating in style. This year, gifting is set to be the most expensive part of our day, with presents for family and loved ones coming in at £229 – almost a third of the average Christmas budget.

Splashing out on our favourite tipple is second on our shopping list, dedicating £72 to alcohol while food comes in £69. If you include snacks and selection boxes, food and drink comes in at a hefty £196 for just one day.

Then of course there’s Christmas dinner, coming in at £70, coupled with travelling to friends and family at £56 and the festive snacks including selection boxes at £55.

Duncan Jennings, co-founder of VoucherCodes.co.uk, commented on the findings: “With outstanding debt rolling over from year to year, the real cost of Christmas is taking its toll on many people and it’s no wonder that they find it difficult to recover from the financial impact in the New Year.

It’s interesting to see however, that whilst people may be making cuts to their budget all year round, staying true to tradition is something that people aren’t willing to compromise on at Christmas time.”

MoneyHighStreet comments: “Clearly whilst families are struggling with their day to day finance, Christmas is not going to be dampened for many. That said, looking to save money as you buy Christmas presents is of course very sensible.

“Using discount vouchers and the like will no doubt be popular.

“Turning to borrow money to finance your gift buying and partying though needs to be done carefully. Using a credit card may seem attractive, particularly if you have a 0% purchases deal for a time, however, your balance will need to be paid off. Make sure you can do this without risking falling into debt.

“Shopping online can be very easy – you might find our article on ‘5 Top Ways to Shop Online Safely‘ useful.

“Finally whenever you do buy your Christmas presents, make sure your home insurance coverage limits are adequate and that you aren’t underinsured with all the expensive gadgets etc in the house. Most policies will automatically increase their coverage limit for Christmas but there are some that don’t. Check the position on yours and increase the limit if need be.”