| After a cautious start to December, UK shoppers | | | | find that a few days of fun simply cost too much, and |
| indulged in a last-minute burst of spending for the | | | | promise themselves they'll cut back this year - so the |
| Christmas season - which many are paying for as | | | | Christmas season can be a valuable wake-up call, |
| they enter the New Year. | | | | emphasizing the need to stop living beyond our means |
| Children aren't the only ones who have a hard time | | | | and get our debts under control. |
| waiting for Christmas. For retailers everywhere, it's the | | | | For increasing numbers of people, paying for |
| most important time of year - the time when shoppers | | | | Christmas is far more serious than a few hefty |
| are most likely to throw caution to the wind and really | | | | repayments. Fees for unauthorised overdrafts, |
| splash out. In 2006, for example, December's credit | | | | charges for bounced payments, maxed-out store |
| card borrowing accounted for 60% of the annual total. | | | | cards with interest rates of 25% or more - it can all |
| So the retail industry held its collective breath as we | | | | add up to a lot of money and a lot of hassle. A |
| approached Christmas 2007 with shrinking disposable | | | | MoneyExpert report found that 10% of almost 2,000 |
| incomes and credit increasingly hard to come by. | | | | respondents were still paying off credit card debts |
| Some analysts thought that financial uncertainty would | | | | from Christmas 2006 as they entered December |
| lead shoppers to cut back on their Christmas spending. | | | | 2007! |
| Others predicted they'd be more likely than ever to | | | | Why do we do it? |
| treat themselves during this once-a-year festival of | | | | Why do so many of us feel compelled to blow our |
| good living and bad judgment. | | | | budgets at Christmas? Advertising? Experts reckon |
| It turned out that the second group was right, largely | | | | that marketing during the festive season cost around |
| thanks to a last-minute burst of spending. According to | | | | half a billion pounds. Peer pressure? 47% of |
| MasterCard, Christmas shoppers spent 3.8% more in | | | | CreditExpert's respondents felt there is social pressure |
| 2007 than in 2006 - the biggest increase in the last | | | | to buy expensive presents. Or is it simply a feeling that |
| three years. Market research firm IMRG reported that | | | | we owe it to our partners, to our kids, or to ourselves? |
| 4.4 million people went shopping online on Christmas | | | | Resisting the urge to splurge is never easy, especially |
| Day itself, spending £84 million, or 269% more | | | | in a society that's grown more and more used to easy |
| than last year! And according to Experian's Retail | | | | credit - but whatever the reasons, it's the individual |
| Footfall Index, numbers of Boxing Day shoppers were | | | | who decides what to spend, and the individual who |
| up 25.1% compared with 2006. | | | | foots the bill. A bit of self-control can save us from a |
| However, now that the party's over... | | | | serious financial 'hangover' when the party's over. |
| Poor start to a New Year | | | | One thing's for sure: a lot of people would be enjoying |
| For some, a penny-pinching New Year is a price well | | | | a better start to the New Year if they'd spent just a |
| worth paying for all the festive celebrations. Others | | | | little less enjoying the end of the old one. |