Christmas madness !!

[Richard]

1

Most people start their Christmas shopping between October – November

Most buy presents for between 11 and 20 people

The majority of our Christmas budgets go on presents for the children

The most common amount spent on partners/spouses is between £100-£150

Teenagers get the most spent on them at Christmas - ave £312 each (2013 = £195)

The majority of people spend between £500-£700 on presents

Most people fail to stick to their spending budget at Christmas

2

The average Briton is £8341 in debt - this excludes Mortgage.

3

One in eight cannot afford to pay the minimum Credit Card repayment in February.

4

There are websites which specialize in giving Christmas loans to those with bad credit history.
Just google loans for christmas!! https://goo.gl/gs4dVh

Sources various Newspapers, thisismoney and gov-uk

Has the world gone mad ?????

Frightening, frightening, frightening !!!!

The Beatles 'Money can't buy you love' comes to mind.

Richard (and not being bah humbug)

[Mo]

I agree.
So much of the stuff is rubbish anyway, or a duplicate of what children have already.

Saw a placard years ago advertising 'new clothes for your holidays - 3 years to pay'. So you'd still be paying when the clothes were well past 'new'

[Meanqueen]

Yes, complete madness. I was talking to my 93 year old uncle the other day about how we spent our money years ago when we didn't have very much. He lived in a village with his parents and four younger siblings, there was a village shop where they got 'tick'. The shop closed and moved six miles away. His mother sent him on his bike every week to make payments on what was owed. He hated having to do that, but that's how it was. Can you imagine anyone doing that now, people would rather forget about what they owed. The MSE forum is awash with folks trying to wriggle out of their repayments for whatever reason, either can't pay, or won't pay.

When I left school and got a job in Woollies I saw a trouser suit in the window of a ladies boutique, just across the road. I really wanted that suit but it was out of my price range. I begged mum to sign an agreement for me to pay weekly, (I wasn't old enough), and she did. Every Friday after I got my wages at lunchtime, I went across with my paying in book, and handed over the cash. I fulfilled my obligations and paid it off. It was a good lesson to learn.

Ilona

[Mo]

The MSE forum is awash with folks trying to wriggle out of their repayments for whatever reason, either can't pay, or won't pay.
Ilona

yes

[albertajune]

I just don't understand what it is about any more. Expectations are so high and each year has to outdo the last.
I know us older ones are always on about how it used to be but we didn't have treats all through the year, so that whatever we had at Christmas was so exciting and special. God forbid if you give something hand made today as you are considered mean, how ever long that something has taken to make.
I truly didn't want anything special this year as what I want I save up and buy throughout the year. I have asked OH to donate what he would spend on me to the charity that rescued our dog Beau. As so many of the dogs from puppy farms are kept in constant darkness, they suffer to a large extent with cataracts. My pressie money has gone towards one poor dog to have eye surgery to give it sight and I feel more pleased than if he had bought something for the sake of it.

[Spreckly]

Good for you, June.

This year I have cut down, and if I cut down any more, there would be no presents. Instead of Cousin, son and daughter in law cards, they have all had a card out of a one pound box, the wishes are the same, but not in such a flashy presentation.

Next year I have said I will not buy presents for grandchildren, who generally appreciate nothing they have given, or great grandchildren, just for my three sons.

This year two of my grandsons will received a book each, five of my six great grandchildren will also receive a small story book, and two older grandsons will receive a box of chocolates!

One of my sons will receive money towards a campervan conversion which he is currently doing, another has already had his present - shelves for his airing cupboards, made by OH, I provided the cash for the wood, and the last son will receive two books about places of local interest.

We kept all our cards to each other and since retirement, we choose a nice one to give to each other at Christmas. The same goes for birthdays, wedding anniversaries, etc.

OH stopped buying for his offspring and grandchildren several years ago.

We watched the BBC 1 programme last week - Greg Wallace was presenting about a family and the food and drink they purchased for themselves and friends to have a massive blow out. The bill came to over £1,400! A lot of it was thrown away.

The shops will not get rich from our house!

[Meanqueen]

A six hour wait to get out of Bluewater Shopping Centre yesterday. Folks are bonkers to get themselves into that mess.
Ilona

[KathJ]

Oh it's certainly madness for sure. People just go so over the top and spend the rest of the year paying for it. I just don't understand at all I watched that Greg Wallace programme too and couldn't believe what I what watching because they didn't look like stupid people!!!

[sandy]

Spending on credit cards have always been too much of a temptation for some people I am afraid. In January in the bank we have to try and pick up the pieces of sob stories or angry customers who realise they have overspent then blame it on being allowed to

[lancashire lass]

sadly, the message of Christmas these days seems to be all about retail so that businesses are in profit for the 31st December accounting, and people are sucked into it

[Freeranger]

I so agree with the idea of things being more special for being received only once a year. I also notice how I see people stuffing supermarket trolleys and then saying it doesn't 'feel' like Christmas. What always made Christmas feel special for us was that we made a lot of things, from decorations to mince pies, and also mixed with other people via parties or just being invited in for a piece of Christmas cake - perhaps you get out what you put in? That means effort rather than money, and you'll never be able to buy the spirit of it no matter how much money you spend.

[bmpsands]

I saw that Greg Wallace programme. On their recommendation I had a wander round A**I and bought a couple of things. The Christmas Tree briochette was OK but had a scarily long list of chemicals in the ingredients. The allegedly careful Christmas still looked a bit lavish by my standards.

My husbands family are prolific breeders. We are at the point now where I buy fancy looking biscuit selections in France in November or cheap tub of chocolates in local supermarkets and each offspring gets one of these. One of our great nieces currently has 4 children, plus partner and two ex-partners visiting over Christmas. There is no way I'm buying individual presents for that lot. We only have 2 children and no grandchildren so it's rather an unequal battle.