{"id":43908,"date":"2023-12-05T15:59:02","date_gmt":"2023-12-05T15:59:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cabanesetcompagnie.com\/?p=43908"},"modified":"2023-12-05T15:59:02","modified_gmt":"2023-12-05T15:59:02","slug":"red-christmas-debt-warning-as-rising-bills-combine-with-festive-spending","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cabanesetcompagnie.com\/world-news\/red-christmas-debt-warning-as-rising-bills-combine-with-festive-spending\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Red Christmas’ debt warning as rising bills combine with festive spending"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Households are urged to remain diligent with their spending this year as new research found that consumers borrowed far more than they anticipated to cover the cost of their Christmas last year.<\/p>\n

Almost a third said they didn\u2019t expect to have paid for Christmas borrowing until June, and 13 percent said they would still be paying off the money they\u2019d borrowed this Christmas.<\/p>\n

Resarch from Royal Life, the UK\u2019s largest life, pensions and investment mutual found that in general, consumers spent an average of \u00a3672 on Christmas 2022.<\/p>\n

This is a fall of 15 percent compared to Christmas 2021 (when they spent \u00a3782 on average).<\/p>\n

Customers are warned Christmas is likely to be even tougher as rising bills, housing costs and food costs mean families are spending almost \u00a3500 a month more on average than they were last year.<\/p>\n

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Sarah Pennells, consumer finance specialist at Royal London explained that their research showed the impact that the cost of living crisis has had on festive spending as consumers will be looking for a bargain this Christmas, but could also be spending even less than last year \u2013 which itself was lower than Christmas 2021.<\/p>\n

She suggeted that paying for Christmas gifts by credit card “can be a sensible move”, because of the valuable consumer protection that comes with it. However she noted that it\u2019s best to “pay it off straightaway”.<\/p>\n

With interest rates having risen steadily earlier this year, anyone thinking of putting their Christmas spending on their credit card and not paying it off, could find it\u2019s rather more expensive than last year, as several card providers have raised interest rates.<\/p>\n

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Ms Pennells said: “If you don\u2019t want Christmas shopping to put you into the red, it\u2019s vital that you budget and don\u2019t get swept away by the bargains.<\/p>\n

“In the tough times everyone is facing, it\u2019s even more important to have a conversation with family and friends so you can work out if there are things that you can do to spend time together that means you can cut back on present buying, if it\u2019s just not going to be affordable.<\/p>\n

“Having a conversation about money at Christmas may be uncomfortable, but starting the new year in the red is even tougher.\u201d<\/p>\n