WHY IS DEBT A PROBLEM AT CHRISTMAS?
Christmas puts a great strain on the family budget. There is enormous pressure on everyone to spend a lot on presents and entertaining. It is particularly difficult if you have children who want the latest and most expensive toy because they have seen it on the television and "everyone else has got one ".
National Debtline experiences a huge increase in the number of calls it receives in January, February and March when people start to feel the effects of having missed payments on essential bills to fund the festive season. This factsheet outlines some of the pitfalls of Christmas and how to avoid them.
Visit www.RemoveDebt.org for more advice
PLANNING AHEAD
- Draw up a personal budget to work out how much you have to pay out on all your essentials and make sure you have these covered. Our self help information pack "Dealing with your debts" shows how to do this.
- Make sure all your priority bills are being paid, e.g. mortgage/rent, gas, electricity, water, council tax and housekeeping.
- If you can decide how much you can afford to spend at Christmas in advance and stick to it, you are less likely to skip payments on essential bills which will need catching up with in the New Year.
- Try and spread payments for presents over as long a time as possible, so lump sums don't have to be paid all at once.
- Try to avoid expensive credit offers in shops, no matter how tempting they may seem.
Visit www.RemoveDebt.org for more advice
