A survey from the Britannia Building Society has found that 10% of adults in the UK are already starting to save for Christmas 2006. The average cost of Christmas in the UK is £718.90. On the other hand, many others have found themselves in debt of up to £700 just from their Christmas spending in 2005.
A total of 37% of adults put their Christmas spending on credit, which according to the Britannia, can take, in some cases, up to 12 months to pay off. Britannia believe that although the UK doesn't have a culture of saving, the people who choose to save in advance for big purchases such as Christmas, holidays and home improvements can add hundreds of pounds in interest by saving in advance.
Our view
People would be better prepared saving for retirement rather than getting sucked into the sales hype that is now supposedly Christmas.