Research has revealed that almost half of Brits (45 per cent) will find the Christmas and New Year season financially stressful, with the expected average outlay standing at £568 for the festive season - and even more for some. One in five of us will splash out in excess of £600 and almost one in eight will lavish a budget-busting spend of more than £900.
Financial Festive Stress
Then storing up trouble for after the festive break, almost one in ten (nine per cent) admit to taking our eye off the ball and missing a bill payment over the holiday period. This doubles to nearly one in five (18 per cent) among those aged between 45 and 54, according to the survey by Bacs Payment Schemes Limited (Bacs) - the people behind Direct Debit in the UK.
Bacs' Mike Hutchinson said: "With so many things to think about, it's perhaps no surprise that things can get forgotten at this time of year. One way to give peace of mind that at least those important bills won't be missed is to pay by Direct Debit - that way you can also spread the costs across the year, and avoid a big bill landing at an already financially stressful time."
To relieve the pressure of all this stress the clever ones not surprisingly, that around one in five (22 per cent) budget at least three months ahead of the Christmas and New Year season. For some (10 per cent) the budgeting starts in excess of six months before Christmas, but more than one in three (36 per cent) don't budget at all.