LONDON–Perhaps Jacob Marley’s ghost continues to haunt England, and not always for the best.
According to a poll, millions of Britons are entering 2018 with a Christmas debt “hangover” after overspending during the holiday. A survey conducted by National Debtline said it found 16% of Britons–approximately 7.9 million people–said they are likely to fall behind with their finances in January after spending too much at Christmas. That figure is an increase of 11% over the findings in a similar poll in 2016.
The poll of more than 2,000 British adults found that over half of those questioned said that they had not saved for Christmas before December arrived. Only 14% reported that they had started saving up for the extra costs of Christmas before last summer, according to National Debtline.
National Debtline, a free debt advice charity, has joined with the Association of British Credit Unions (ABCUL) to call on households to make a plan for next Christmas.
Joanna Elson, chief executive of the Money Advice Trust, the charity that runs National Debtline, told The Independent that January is a challenging time for many households, with the impact of festive spending taking its toll on household budgets.
The charity is advising consumers who have debt problems to join a credit union.
“Credit unions across the country help their members to save towards the costs of Christmas with dedicated Christmas savings accounts which lock funds away and make them available as the festivities approach,” Mark Lyonette, chief executive of ABCUL, told The Independent.