Downhill from December for Brits in debt

A third of people will take an average of four paycheques to clear the debt they chalked up in December, according to new research released today.

Almost one in three Brits (32%) say they think it will be April before they’ve paid off their Christmas expenditure. Despite receiving their first pay packet this month, those who have an unpaid loan from Christmas say they will still be overdrawn, in debt or have loans outstanding by almost 60% on average.

Around one in ten people (9%) say they may take between 6 and 12 months to pay off their debt, putting 2010’s festive season at risk for millions of families.

Even though most of us will be receiving our first paycheque of the year this week, we’re all taking drastic measures to try to minimise the impact of the debt from both last Christmas and even the next one.

The average monthly expenditure last year was £2214, which includes rent, mortgage, food and basic bills. But Brits have now set a total monthly budget for 2010 at almost half that amount, with the intention to spend just £1190 a month, according to the research by Sky Broadband.

Women in particular are cutting down their monthly outgoings, pledging to spend just £1090 a month, almost a quarter (23%) less than men (£1332).

With one in four Brits admitting they’ll really struggle in 2010 and almost one in ten who see no hope, things appear drastic.