Wednesday, December 27, 2017

Xmas Debt

Christmas spending means that Britons who splurged on plastic will start 2018 owing an average of more than £450 on their credit cards – with many fearful the debt will still be haunting them by next Christmas.

Nearly £8.5bn has been loaded on to credit cards to cover the cost of gifts and entertaining, according to research by uSwitch, which found nearly a fifth of consumers had exceeded their Christmas budget as they grappled with rising living costs.

“January should be a time for looking ahead but up and down the country millions of Brits will be looking over their shoulder at the cost of their festive spending,” said Tashema Jackson, money expert at uSwitch.com. Half of the respondents told uSwitch they were worried they would still be trying to clear the debt in December 2018. Nearly one in 10 were still paying off debts dating back to last Christmas.

One annual survey found that the UK’s cheapest supermarket Christmas dinner cost 18% more than last year.

No comments: