Britain scared of Christmas

Almost half of UK consumers (45 per cent) are worried about funding Christmas this year, according to research from moneysupermarket.com. Their fears may be justified as two thirds of the population (66 per cent) will not save enough cash in time to cover their Christmas costs, meaning credit cards, overdrafts, loans and December income will be used to take up the slack.

Kevin Mountford, head of banking at moneysupermarket.com says "Christmas is always a difficult time of year financially and the current economic climate is not making things any easier. Preparation is the key during the festive season and consumers who have saved will be able to start the New Year without the burden of Christmas debt hanging over them."

Nearly a fifth (18 per cent) of spenders have already saved a sufficient amount to fund this year's festivities and a third (34 per cent) will have saved enough money by the time Christmas rolls round. However, 17 per cent of those surveyed said they are planning use a credit card for their Christmas purchasing.

Kevin Mountford added; "For those with insufficient savings, trying to fund the whole event through their December salary can be a bit of a stretch. If you do need to borrow over the festive period, a credit card offering zero per cent interest on purchases might be the cheapest option.

"Provided you are able to pay off the balance in full within the zero per cent period, these cards are a good way of spreading the cost of Christmas. Don't be tempted to spread the cost over a longer term otherwise you may be still paying for this Christmas going into next year's festivities. However the best course of action will always be to take a ‘jam jar' approach to saving by putting aside money regularly throughout the year in a regular savings product which can start at £20 to £25 per month."