Many Brits will fall deeper into debt to finance their Christmas spending this year.

Nearly three quarters of British adults will finance their Christmas spending by borrowing on credit cards or plundering their savings, research by Money.co.uk has found.

The research has found that whilst 31% of adults are worried about how they will pay for Christmas, only 15% have made any sensible plans to spread the cost over the last twelve months.

This failure to plan will result in 30 million Brits feeling the pinch in January to the tune of £8bn.  With 4.7m adults admitting that they are still paying for Christmas last year, 2010 will start of bleakly for many.

Chris Morling, managing director, money.co.uk said:  “There is no reason at all why families across Britain should not have a wonderful Christmas this year, but you have to worry about the effect all this last minute spending will have in January.”

“Lots of people are likely to be very short of cash going into the New Year, which would not make for a great start to 2010.”

There are many ways to cut the cost of Christmas, particularly with a small amount of planning, however the following tips may help those who want to pay for Christmas at the last minute:

• Set a sensible and realistic budget – and stick to it.


• Shop around for the best deals and special offers.


• Use 0% credit cards and cashback credit cards

©MoneyHighStreet.com Personal Finance