Debt: the true Cost of Christmas

The new numbers are in: Almost 4 million people in the UK have already gone into debt to pay for Christmas this year (aka in 2010!), according to research released today by R3, the insolvency trade body.

The research also finds that
over 6 million people fear they won’t have enough money to pay their bills at the end of the month due to Christmas spending, and 3 million admit they’re still paying off debts from Christmas last year.

Seriously, people! Isn't it shocking?!

Why would we (and this includes myself) over-spend just to please others and to comply with "you need to give a lot of expensive presents for Christmas" expectation of our society? I could rant about it for hours, which, sadly, did not stop me over-spending in 2009 though...

What am I going to do about it in 2010?
I have created a monthly budget that includes Christmas saving pot. I have started paying money each month into that virtual pot - luckily I have at least 10 months to save up, so come next Christmas I will have real money in my hands to spend!

I recently saved money into a "unexpected" pot (not much as I've just started living on a budget) and you can't imagine how GREAT it felt to pay for a tyre replacement out of that pot (rather then from my current account) - I seriously felt a bit rich for a moment.

Next time I contemplate not putting money aside for future spending I will remind myself of that extremely positive feeling and that should help me stick with my saving plan.

Don't you think, that knowing that Christmas will happen, should help us all to save for it in advance rather than trying to pay for presents out of the December salary or by credit card?

And why don't so many people paln for Christmas (birthdays, hollidays) spendings?

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