A Christmas Spending Spree

Published: 23 June 2008

Christmas is an expensive time of year. Even the traditional stocking, which once upon a time held not much more than a tangerine and a sixpence, now costs over £80 to fill. A survey of over 2,000 parents last year found that 60% of them planned to spend over £150 on their children, with 3% planning to spend more than a staggering £500. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) calculated that Christmas Day alone cost each household an average of £975.
Where the money to pay for these gifts comes from is a fraught subject in many homes and many households have to resort to borrowing cash for Christmas. Despite the gloomy economic outlook, shoppers last year went on a credit card shopping spree buying luxury gifts and expensive gadgets. Accountants Deloitte publish an annual study of Christmas spending habits and found average spending last year to be around £712 per person on food, festivities, clothes and gifts.
Head of retail at Deloitte, Tarlok Taji said ‘Indulgence is a common theme at Christmas’. Many consumers defied the credit crunch and attempted to spend their way to a Happy Christmas. Online sales were up at Christmas last year, with spending on electronics and clothing doing particularly well. However, overall Christmas spending fell 0.4% last December.
One reason that spending fell last year is due to what has been called the Christmas debt hangover, with many people finding they are still paying off debts from previous Christmas loans. Sean Gardner, chief executive of MoneyeExpert.com warned ‘We can all give into temptation at Christmas and put it on plastic, but if the debt lingers from year to year, you’re starting to get into trouble.’ It is estimated that over 4 million consumers will still be paying off Christmas debt from 2007 come Christmas this year.
Many consumers are attracted to store cards for their Christmas credit. However, the interest rates on store cards can mean that shoppers can end up paying almost twice the original cost of the gifts they have purchased. Personal finance expert, Mike Naylor from uSwitch.com, said,’ People are typically lured into store card ‘deals’ at the checkout because they will get a small discount on the purchase being made. In most cases, this discount will be completely negated by the high levels of interest incurred by those who do not pay the balance off in full every month.’
Christmas loans are another way to finance the purchase of gifts and other luxuries associated with festive holiday spending. These can help finance any spending needed, whether it be a relatively small amount to help buy presents or a larger amount so that the whole family can escape the winter weather for more tropical climes. They are a quick and easy way to find extra Christmas money for those must-have purchases.
JST can offer fast Christmas loans with a quick on-line application process. They offer personal unsecured loans and can also find a loan from other lenders. With JST the cost of Christmas can be covered quickly and easily, meaning a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year can be had by all.

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