With people returning to their normal daily routines after the festive period, new research from Santander reveals that an eye watering £3.8 billion was overspent on presents during the festive period, equivalent to £78 per person. Consequently, two fifths (38 per cent) of adults will make cutbacks this month in order to save money post their Christmas splurge. A fifth (20 per cent) vow to spend less on going out, and a similar proportion (18 per cent) plan to spend less on food and drink.
While six per cent will spend less on birthday presents for family and friends as a result of festive spending, five per cent will try and spend less on transport by walking to work or taking the bus instead of driving. People are also prepared to break with the usual January tradition of joining the gym by cancelling their membership as a way to curb spending (four per cent).
The study also highlights that £1.8 billion was wasted on unwanted presents. However, it’s not all doom and gloom as it is revealed that 34 per cent spent money on a charitable gift, equating to over £1 billion in donations.
Matt Hall, Head of Banking and Unsecured Credit at Santander commented: “Despite our best intentions, we still manage to overspend by a significant amount during the festive period each year. At a time when finances are tight and many household budgets are being squeezed, many people will want to take steps to make the most of their money this January.
“There are many ways to make the holiday financial worries a little easier. For example, credit card users could choose to spend on a cashback card to get some money back, or those who have overspent and need to get their finances back on track could look at switching to a balance transfer card with a zero per cent deal. This could go some way to alleviating any festive spending hangovers.”
Women (42 per cent) are more likely to go over their festive budget than men (39 per cent) but in general, Brits in the North East are the biggest over-spenders, going on average £141 over budget.
With this in mind, a fifth (21 per cent) of UK adults stated that they will cut back on festive spending in 2017 as a result of the amount spent on Christmas 2016. However, over half (55 per cent) expect their spending to remain the same and five per cent expect to increase it.
Santander has introduced changes to its Everyday Credit Card, All in One Credit Card and Unsecured Personal Loan products, helping people prosper as they get their finances in order after an expensive festive period.
