A study has found that 43% of British shoppers expect to spend more than their monthly pay cheque over the festive season.
Indeed, 68% of British people said that they intend to use credit cards to fund the additional cost of Christmas, a survey of 1,000 adults in the UK conducted by Creditfix.co.uk found.
An additional 24% said that they have more than one credit card to cover Christmas costs.
According to the survey, 62% of Brits said that the biggest cost over the festive period comes from purchasing gifts for loved ones.
Last month, we took a look at the adverts released by retailers this Christmas to encourage shopping over the festive season.
John Lewis & Partners, together with Waitrose & Partners, released their Christmas advert featuring the character #ExcitableEdgar.
Additionally, Marks & Spencer (LON:MKS), Sainsbury’s (LON:SBRY), Tesco (LON:TSCO) and McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) also released adverts to encourage consumers to get into the festive spirit.
Meanwhile, respondents also said that hosting Christmas dinner, attending social events such as Christmas markets and buying decorations also break the bank.
The survey found that 16% are still paying off debt from last year’s Christmas period.
“It is difficult to anticipate the true cost of Christmas, especially when we all want to treat our loved ones to something special. This is even more the case considering the cost of gifts and festive experiences, such as Christmas markets, which seem to get more expensive every year,” Taylor Flynn, head of marketing at Creditfix, commented on the data.
“There are resources available to Brits that can help with budgeting over the festive season and handling credit card bills in the new year, easing financial strain. So, Brits can spend less time worrying about money and more time enjoying the holidays,” Taylor Flynn continued.