Does Britain need to rethink Christmas spending habits
 

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/s...ts-Europe.html

Are we more susceptible to advertising or just stupid enough to get into debt for bath bombs?

British shoppers spend more on Christmas presents than anyone in Europe - and are the most likely to get into debt doing it
Average Briton will spend £350 on Christmas gifts
This is £110 higher than those in the next nearest countries
But 14% may find themselves in debt to fund festive splurge
By Lee Boyce for Thisismoney.co.uk

Nicky and the Netherlands at the bottom of the Poll :clap1:

The government loves people to be in debt and encourages it, that's what keeps people in work and the governments in power and control

It's a "got to have" mentality.
Woe betide any parent that won't/can't buy little Johnny/Jenny the latest fad and have their kids ridiculed.

I think if you looked at the demographics of the spending, the majority of that would come from England and the South East, so they actually have a worse problem than it looks

I've never understood why people take out loans to pay for Xmas. The chances are, if you need to take out a loan to buy little Johnny all those presents he doesn't need, its because you can't afford it and if you can't afford the presents, you likely can't afford the loan you now have to pay back.

Britain is a consumer society and some children being brought up in this consumer society are being taught from an early age, that they can have anything they desire. Just ask and Santa will deliver it on a plate. Mum and dad can't afford to pay for Johnnys school lunch but when it comes to Xmas, there will be dozens of expensive presents under the tree just for him. I don't think its healthy. It doesn't teach these children to be careful with money. It doesn't teach them how to be thrifty when times are short or that saving their pocket has benefits. All we are teaching them is 'indulgence is fine'.

:clap2:

You are probably right

i wish id only spent £350

:idc:

New breasts are not cheap lt

All the better to fit into his new princess dress though.

i spent that at Tesco on food ffs

but i love Christmas so i dont care

:hee:

The TL and I went on a Moleskine stationary shopping extravaganza at lunch too

so there

Oh I thought he was doing porn movies again for the start of the car boot season

:oh:

That's not the point, you can afford it, its about living within your means and not overstretching and spending on stuff people don't need or often don't want :oh:

You may be referring to the half bloody full shoebox of Pandora charms the TL has...

:idc:

You only buy her them so when she is wearing them she can't run away

Actually the floating locket thing i am very pleased with as it goes and the girls love the charm bracelets so that shop did me proud this Chrimbo. God only knows how much they took nationally

:shocked:

It’s a tricky one. I always wanted to give my daughters the Christmas I never had growing up . I wanted them to have nice things to open on Christmas . When we’ve had the money we’ve got them nice things , and when we haven’t we’ve had to compromise a little and be a bit more creative . We’ve tried to avoid putting Christmas On a Credit card. The important thing is to teach kids the value of money . You don’t have to deprive of them of the jewellery or make up or games consoles to teach them that lesson . Our kids did alright growing up but they’ve not turned out spoilt . R.

Everyone should reconsider spending habits in general. Many people punch above their weight with the amount they spend when they actually can't afford it... Consumerism is just another terrible symptom of the American capitalism.

As a society we are foolish men who have built all of our houses upon the sand - that is to say, all of our stock is in the free market capitalist bubble and we sort of have to accept that. We stop spending and the whole thing washes away with the next tide. Sooo basically... we're not going to change / fix it, so we might as well enjoy Christmas :shrug:.

I mean, I have a not insignificant amount of credit card debt, have done for years. After Christmas, between us me n' the wife had about £800 of "Christmas funds" left over... and yeah, we COULD have lumped all of that onto a credit card, but would it actually make any difference at all to our month to month budget if we did? Nope. Piss in the ocean. So we bought a nice big 4k telly instead :joker:.

People should only spend what they can afford, I don't get how so many people struggle to understand this.

If people want to buy more expensive gifts that wouldn't otherwise be able to afford then save your money bit by bit all year and then you can get the gift and not be broke. Common sense people.:laugh:

No, it's up to an individual what they want to spend. If they save all year round to spend thousands then that's up to them.

That's because they can afford it which is okay.

I honestly don't get people though who put themselves in debt over Christmas presents, when I was a kid I would be happy with just a cheap toy, or a £1 Football, and I'm sure that most kids would still be happy with that today if their parents couldn't afford them the latest IPhone's or Playstation.

I wouldn't mind payday loan companies being outlawed entirely, they're just there to entrap idiots.

I dunno, I can't save for ****. I tried to save 1.5k for a new gaming PC for about 3 years... I get to maybe 3 / 400 and end up spending it on something else :shrug:. Whereas if I get something "buy now pay 12 months later", which most tech sites offer these days, I'm pretty consistent at getting paid off in time, usually early. And they don't charge interest unless you go beyond your fee free period (they bank on people missing the deadline).

Piling up interest-gathering debt is stupid though. I still have a tonne of it from when I was a student... And that was 8 years ago now :umm2:. Again for the same reason as above though, I'm terrible at getting it paid off, I'm so used to it being a standard part of my outgoings that I don't miss the minimum payments but DO miss any extra cash I put on to try to pay it off. Really what I need is a fixed term consolidation loan to plough on with... But getting a decent interest rate is impossible if you're not a homeowner.

Oh... Yes, anyone who does THAT sort of borrowing is a straight up idiot. Not least because with creative use of multiple PayPal accounts - you can give YOURSELF a payday loan interest free :shrug:.

As a kid I always made a Christmas list and I inevitably got a few of those things on that list. Our kids did/do the same and they will get an item (or two if its not too expensive) that's on that list. What my kids don't expect is everything on that list. I can't buy their love, it comes without a price ticket.

:worry: you need to start chipping away at it, can you move some if not all of it to an interest free credit card so that you can at least start paying off some of the capital?

Well considering people are supposed to have no money ,people shop as though we are going to war !!! the shops are shut for ONE day,two at most and people just go silly and that's just the food shopping.

Is this based on the total figure of what's been spent?

Probably because, compared to most countries, we get bloody ripped off with everything being quadruple the cost it is anywhere else. :hmph:

But that's still the same thing. If someone uses a credit card or takes out a loan to buy a few nice things for the family at Christmas. As long as they can afford to repay the loan or the repayments then that's their business and entirely fine.

I have a credit card for that reason, it allows me to purchase what I want or need and pay it back at a more convenient time. I don't have it because I don't have the money to buy it.

The people spending what they haven't got and won't be able to pay back are fewer and further between.

The country as a whole can't reduce what it spends, it's up to individuals to do it - if that is what they want.

I've got a feeling (though have no proof) that Christmas has become more serious business in this country, than others, even America. Also I have noticed how other days like Halloween have become much more commercialised in this country in recent years.

:shrug: Our household income will increase dramatically when my wife finishes Uni in 18 months, I'm happy enough coasting along until then. I can't get any decent credit cards until 2019 either because my credit rating is heavily affected by a default in 2013 - £60 on an O2 mobile contract that I thought was finished! (Moved house around the same time, they couldn't or didn't bother to find me, registered it as unpaid... big red mark, ugh) :joker:

Christmas is way over commercialised, and like James said, its spreading rapidly to other events like Easter, Fathers day, Mothers day, Valentines day. All designed to give retailers a boost.

It's up to individuals to be sensible in this regard. People need to budget for the year, not the month or week. Buy what you want, not what you are told you want.

A few years ago, when we went to war in Iraq, one of my friends went out and bought raisins by the trolley load. Why did she do that you ask? Because her granny told her they were in short supply during WW2 :joker:

Christmas can be relatively cheap if you shop well. I have already bought lots of stocking fillers for next year in the sales. I'm lucky at the moment that my son is still quite young and happy with toys, im dreading him wanting all the expensive tech toys. It was quite cute on xmas day when he was talking to my (far richer) brothers kids. They were telling him about the drones, segways and other expensive kit they got and he said "yeah that's cool but I got Gooey Louie....you have to pick his nose". I think as a whole people try and impress others with what they buy and the thought element goes out the window a little

I think the problem of the commercialization of the holidays is exacerbated by the fact that retailers are struggling right now for existence. The holidays is supposed to be family oriented, but to retail it's to bring them into profitability. With more $$ going to online, a lot of companies have had to close up shop(s). Christmas time is one of the few times I will go to a shop now to buy anything really since aside from groceries and self-care products, most of my shopping is done through Amazon now.

The most annoying change though for me in the US is that many shops here now open up on Thanksgiving, which force employees to work on Thanksgiving with no option to opt out. It's a fire-able offense with some companies.

Christmas has always been commercial, but I don't know many people who put Christmas on credit anymore. The younger generations seem to be more cost-conscious, one of the "upsides" of the recession,. I've always thought it was a bit embarrassing to overextend yourself to "impress" others. I've never put Christmas on credit unless it was to save costs (like a sale or something) and it would be paid off in a week or so.

Another change, I remember we had "Lay Away" in the 90's when you could make payments for Christmas gifts months in advance. It went away and then returned post-recession as more people have become cost-conscious. I remember when it was taken away, the claim was because people stopped paying sometimes and then rather than "exclusive" (or high demand) items being sold, they had too much of that product sitting on shelves that it was such a hassle. I guess times have changed.

It does matter though, because when sales are anemic, businesses will cut back on behavior that drives away business (see every ad pull ever). That's how Capitalism is (ideally) managed is through demand. We totally have more power.

The demand is there though with regards to Christmas, and the culture as it is supports the current supply of it. I don't see why we can't take control of our culture and shift it other ways if we wanted, but that would take a concerted effort over a period of time. It wouldn't all up and vanish instantly. :laugh:

All that said, most people wouldn't bother to look away from their smart phone for five seconds much less be "inconvenienced" in order to take such a stand... so I agree your single gesture of non-support is likely moot. :laugh:

I had a credit card once when the kids were small and ended up with about 3000 on it. It wasn't so much gifts that went on credit but the costs of entertainment during summer holidays full of rain and the extortionate cost of having a holiday during the school holidays at all. It felt like a weight dragging me down so I got a loan, paid it off and I've never used credit cards since. If I don't have the money then I can't have the thing. I'm happier this way though I'm very generous and I struggle with that sometimes. I love giving.

what if she ups and leaves you and your student debt :worry:

and takes the 4K TV with her :omgno:

Or if your wage covers the payback of the loan, spread the cost throughout the following year.