Abacus Daily Debt News

Christmas spending ‘to put over 5 million in debt’

This Christmas will see 5.5 million Britons - or 11 per cent of the population - getting into debt purely through their spending on presents and other items for the festive season, new research has indicated.

The study by insurer Bright Grey found the average adult will spend 45 per cent of their salary on festive items in the last three months of the year, with their outlay rising by 65 per cent on a normal month's budget.

Of the reasons given for such overspending, the most common were linked to the expectations of others, such as children and other family members wanting expensive gifts.

But 14 per cent admitted their excesses occurred "just because they are hopeless with money".

Last week, accounting software firm Accountz found only 40 per cent of people set themselves a budget for their festive outlay.

Furthermore, its poll discovered a quarter of those doing this failed to stick to it.

By Joe White