| After a cautious start to December, UK | | | | celebrations. Others find that a few days of |
| shoppers indulged in a last-minute burst of | | | | fun simply cost too much, and promise |
| spending for the Christmas season - which | | | | themselves they'll cut back this year - so |
| many are paying for as they enter the New | | | | the Christmas season can be a valuable |
| Year. | | | | wake-up call, emphasizing the need to stop |
| | | | living beyond our means and get our debts |
| Children aren't the only ones who have a hard | | | | under control. |
| time waiting for Christmas. For retailers | | | | |
| everywhere, it's the most important time of | | | | For increasing numbers of people, paying for |
| year - the time when shoppers are most likely | | | | Christmas is far more serious than a few |
| to throw caution to the wind and really | | | | hefty repayments. Fees for unauthorised |
| splash out. In 2006, for example, December's | | | | overdrafts, charges for bounced payments, |
| credit card borrowing accounted for 60% of | | | | maxed-out store cards with interest rates of |
| the annual total. | | | | 25% or more - it can all add up to a lot of |
| | | | money and a lot of hassle. A MoneyExpert |
| So the retail industry held its collective | | | | report found that 10% of almost 2,000 |
| breath as we approached Christmas 2007 with | | | | respondents were still paying off credit card |
| shrinking disposable incomes and credit | | | | debts from Christmas 2006 as they entered |
| increasingly hard to come by. Some analysts | | | | December 2007! |
| thought that financial uncertainty would lead | | | | |
| shoppers to cut back on their Christmas | | | | Why do we do it? |
| spending. Others predicted they'd be more | | | | |
| likely than ever to treat themselves during | | | | Why do so many of us feel compelled to blow |
| this once-a-year festival of good living and | | | | our budgets at Christmas? Advertising? |
| bad judgment. | | | | Experts reckon that marketing during the |
| | | | festive season cost around half a billion |
| It turned out that the second group was | | | | pounds. Peer pressure? 47% of CreditExpert's |
| right, largely thanks to a last-minute burst | | | | respondents felt there is social pressure to |
| of spending. According to MasterCard, | | | | buy expensive presents. Or is it simply a |
| Christmas shoppers spent 3.8% more in 2007 | | | | feeling that we owe it to our partners, to |
| than in 2006 - the biggest increase in the | | | | our kids, or to ourselves? |
| last three years. Market research firm IMRG | | | | |
| reported that 4.4 million people went | | | | Resisting the urge to splurge is never easy, |
| shopping online on Christmas Day itself, | | | | especially in a society that's grown more and |
| spending £84 million, or 269% more than | | | | more used to easy credit - but whatever the |
| last year! And according to Experian's Retail | | | | reasons, it's the individual who decides what |
| Footfall Index, numbers of Boxing Day | | | | to spend, and the individual who foots the |
| shoppers were up 25.1% compared with 2006. | | | | bill. A bit of self-control can save us from |
| | | | a serious financial 'hangover' when the |
| However, now that the party's over... | | | | party's over. |
| | | | |
| Poor start to a New Year | | | | One thing's for sure: a lot of people would |
| | | | be enjoying a better start to the New Year if |
| For some, a penny-pinching New Year is a | | | | they'd spent just a little less enjoying the |
| price well worth paying for all the festive | | | | end of the old one. |