Irish Shoppers Plan To Reign In Christmas Spend

Saturday, 09 October 2010 00:00

Written by Noel Cotter

The National Consumer Agency has today published a Christmas budget planner on its personal finance website, www.itsyourmoney.ie. This comes as an online poll carried out by the NCA revealed that 53% of people are planning a low-budget Christmas this year.

More than a fifth of those who responded to the question “Are you saving for Christmas?” said that they had been saving a little all year, while 18% hadn't started saving yet, but would start soon.

Only 6% said that they plan to use a credit card and 53% of people are planning a low budget Christmas this year.

Karen O'Leary, Director of Public Awareness and Financial Education at the NCA, remarked, "It's encouraging to see that consumers are already planning ahead for Christmas and that very few intend to rely on credit to cover the cost. However, even with the best of intentions, it's easy to get caught up in the excitement and end up overdoing it. The best way to avoid this is to set out a budget before starting to shop - this is especially important if you are managing on less money than before. If you plan your Christmas spending and stick to your budget, you can enjoy Christmas safe in the knowledge that you won't be starting the New Year with unnecessary debt."

The Christmas budget planner is designed to help consumers draw up a realistic budget as they start to plan their Christmas spending.

It sets out the main costs associated with Christmas such as gifts, food, drink and decorations and also includes some of the less obvious costs that consumers may forget to budget for, for example the social side of Christmas.

Ms O'Leary added: "It might seem far too early to start thinking about Christmas, but if you work out much you plan to spend now, it will allow you to start saving to reach that target. Or, you could start shopping early to spread the cost, so you won't have to take a large hit to your wallet in December."

Further information is available on the NCA's personal finance website www.itsyourmoney.ie, including how to manage your money at Christmas and details of what to consider before using any form of credit to fund Christmas spending.

Christmas budget planner
How to manage your money at Christmas
Poll results