All I want for Christmas is more debt?

Christmas Turkey

turkey.jpgIf you’ve received a credit or store card offer by post or email, then think hard before applying, even if you think Christmas is going to be tough without one - your debts might soon become a Christmas turkey that you don’t want.

This is an experience typical of many Payplan clients. Although the festive season is a wonderful time of year, all too many of us get carried away buying presents for Christmas and attending parties, Christmas dinners and the desire to buy lavish gifts for our loved ones. We are bombarded by advertising, everyone claiming to be offering the ‘essential Christmas gifts’, and there are literally hundreds of credit and store cards falling over themselves to help us buy this stuff. Understandably, it can be all too easy to spend more money than you can really afford.

UK personal debt is growing by £1 million every four minutes and the hundreds of credit and store cards on the market are being blamed. Take a credit card debt of £1,500. If you’re charged 1.5% a month and only ever pay the minimum monthly requirement of 2% of your outstanding balance, this bill will take an astounding 37 years to clear, and at the cost of thousands of pounds of interest!

tinsel tree.jpgIt is estimated that over 10% of us are still paying for last Christmas, and yet, at Payplan, we see these same people brandishing the credit card or store cards once again. Many store cards have APRs of nearly 30% and are targeting the most vulnerable who are having difficulty getting credit elsewhere.

Worse still, if you use your credit card to withdraw cash, the Interest rates can average 23% and are charged from the date of withdrawal. You can also expect to pay a fee of up to 3%.

Would you still withdraw £500 on your credit card if you knew that by making only the minimum repayments you’ll repay over £1,400? That’s nearly double the original amount in interest alone.

Artificial Christmas?

So what’s our advice? Christmas Day is, when all said and done, just another day, and taking advantage of easy credit can leave you with the disadvantage of difficult debts. Avoid the temptation to take out expensive credit you can’t afford just for the sake of one day.

If you’re on a tight budget then remember that your friends and family would probably consider that togetherness, fun and laughter are the secrets to a fabulous Christmas. So, for those of us that are lucky enough to spend Christmas with our nearest and dearest we should relax and enjoy the time spent with them. That doesn’t need to cost anything.

“All I want for Christmas is…”

Payplan can offer budgeting and free debt advice before and after
Christmas on freephone 0800 280 2816 or by submitting your details online using their debt assessment

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Be a money saving expert online this Christmas

Christmas record breakers

A staggering £14 billion will be spent online this Christmas by the most internet obsessed shoppers in Europe; British consumers.

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27 million people will buy their Christmas shopping online during the festive season, a record according to Credit Action, as supermarkets, high street retailers and numerous small businesses take advantage of e-commerce and compete for British consumers’ hard earned cash. However, Christmas shoppers can take advantage too.

Payplan Christmas budget

Payplan encourages sensible spending and careful budgeting over the Christmas and New Year period, especially for its thousands of clients receiving help dealing with their debts. Shopping online can reap further benefits for those needing to save money, especially for those who have little to spend and rely on reducing costs and being thrifty.

Add up all the benefits of online shopping, and you could save yourself time, stress and a small fortune:

No need to queue jump

No car parking costs

Competitive prices from UK and abroad

Open 24 hours a day

No snow, wind, ice or rain

Excellent facility for those unable to leave the home

Online shopping security

Remember, whilst there are genuine benefits to making purchases online, it is important to use the internet safely. The government led Consumer Direct offers useful advice for consumers buying goods online, especially by learning how to keep your personal details safe, such as your credit or debit card details.

Payplan can offer budgeting and free debt advice on freephone 0800 280 2816 or by submitting your details online using their debt assessment

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Child Benefit - 25 million peoples’ records lost

Fraud Alert

UK families receiving Child Benefit have been urged to remain ‘vigilant’ and to report any unusual activity from their personal bank accounts to their bank.

Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) yesterday admitted losing 15 million records of Child Benefit recipients containing the personal data of 25 million individuals, including National Insurance numbers, children’s names and addresses and Bank Account details.

Two computer discs, which held the data of all parents with children under 16 years of age, went missing through their internal postal system. For further information, HMRC have set up a Child Benefit Helpline on 0845 302 1444

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Are you a Christmas credit card tart?

Over 63% of the £53 billion pounds spent by consumers over Christmas and New Year will be charged to their plastic cards, increasing their Christmas debt.

Figures from APACS (the UK trade payments association) suggest that Christmas spending will increase on last year. With this in mind, it’s highly possible that many consumers are buying Christmas presents, food shopping and even their mortgage payments (See ‘Are you using Credit Cards to Pay Your Mortgage) with credit in the hope of ‘tarting’ their credit cards in the New Year to a 0% balance transfer.

Credit Crunch Time

However, the recent credit crunch and rising base interest rates has contributed to the demise of these deals, and many Christmas shoppers could have trouble meeting their minimum monthly payments in the New Year, let alone paying larger amounts of their Christmas debts back .

Those that budget over December and January will fair better, but if you feel you’re going to be over-stretching your balance-sheet during the festive season, or, if you are already struggling, then remember to seek advice as soon as possible.

For immediate, confidential and free debt help and budgeting advice, call Payplan on freephone 0800 280 2816 or submit details of your financial situation online to an experienced and sympathetic adviser using the Payplan debt assessment.

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