Christmas: Earlier this year?

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If the retail sector is to be believed, Christmas is coming - and has been since September.

Barely had the "back to school" offers been cleared from the shelves before the glitter, sparkle and traditional Christmas fayre appeared in their place, vying for our attention and creating an urgency that we all find difficult to ignore. Then there are the Christmas editions of all manner of mail order catalogues bombarding the doormat on an almost daily basis, plus Internet offers inundating your inbox. You just cannot ignore it.

It’s coming, it’s unavoidable but will you manage it any better than last year? The UK leads Europe in credit card ownership - so we know a thing or two about shopping.

However, the downside is that personal debt continues it’s upward spiral. The last five years has seen a bumper 86% increase in personal debt, whilst average earnings have only increased by 28.5%. It therefore comes as no surprise that a recent survey by leading debt advice organisation Payplan, revealed 80% of us are worried about meeting the cost of Christmas which last year averaged out at £813 per head of the adult population

But what can you do to avoid the post - Christmas financial hangover that’s all too familiar to many of us?

The short answer is firstly, plan ahead and secondly, once you get the other side of the festive season, do a financial reality check, confront the cost of Christmas, then take some practical steps to recovery.

Given that experience tells us prevention is better than cure, the following advice can help avoid the shop in haste, repent at leisure predicament:

Ideally, save to provide a financial buffer for the Christmas budget.
Whether or not you’ve been able to do this, plan what you can afford and set a realistic and affordable spending limit. It’s often easier to stick to your plan by paying in cash so you know exactly when you reach your planned limit.

If you need to resort to credit, remember that store cards and mail order catalogues offer poor value.

It’s all too easy to overlook monthly card repayments during the Christmas holiday and pay dearly for the oversight. Don’t lose sight of your existing financial obligations during the festive season.

To try and control your gift budget, agree a spending ceiling, for example £10 per gift. With adult friends or relatives try to negotiate a "no gifts" pact.

And whilst shopping, don’t ditch your bargain-hunting skills for the festive season - shop around for best value. There may be a risk of not getting what you want, but the pre - Christmas sales can help cut costs.

There’s really no reason to pay over the odds, particularly if you’re using credit, so shop around. The Internet can often help reduce the leg work, but check delivery lead times during the run up to Christmas day.

And after Christmas? Well, the soft option would be to just to let the retail therapy continue into the January sales and beyond.
Alternatively, just take a moment to check precisely how much you owe, and look at the impact this will have on your monthly budget.

Chances are this will be a sobering experience. But the good news is that you will at least be recognising that there comes a time when you have to take control. The sooner you move away from minimum payments and start making inroads into the debt legacy left by Christmas 2005, the sooner you can get back in control of your finances, and your life.

Now may be the time to think about a financial resolution that starts before Christmas. Why wait for the New Year?

PCS Case Study

One PCS member approached Payplan after receiving threats of legal action from his creditors. As a single parent, the client had struggled with the daily costs of running a house and raising a family, to the extent that he had applied for a credit card.

Unfortunately, the client eventually found himself struggling with 4 credit cards and a consolidation loan. When he contacted Payplan, his debts totalled almost £16,000 and he was failing to maintain his mortgage payments. After receiving threats of legal action from his creditors, the client contacted Payplan’s team of specialist debt advisers for help.

After negotiating with his creditors, Payplan were able to establish regular monthly payments to his creditors that he could afford, whilst maintaining his mortgage payments and a good standard of living for himself and his family.

As Payplan do not charge a fee for their service, every penny paid by the client went towards clearing his debts. After 4 years of making regular payments, the client was debt free with his financial freedom restored.

Christmas: Earlier this year?

Filed Under  Press Releases  |  Leave a Comment

If the retail sector is to be believed, Christmas is coming - and has been since September.

Barely had the “back to school” offers been cleared from the shelves before the glitter, sparkle and traditional Christmas fayre appeared in their place, vying for our attention and creating an urgency that we all find difficult to ignore. Then there are the Christmas editions of all manner of mail order catalogues bombarding the doormat on an almost daily basis, plus Internet offers inundating your inbox. You just cannot ignore it.

It’s coming, it’s unavoidable but will you manage it any better than last year? The UK leads Europe in credit card ownership - so we know a thing or two about shopping.

However, the downside is that personal debt continues it’s upward spiral. The last five years has seen a bumper 86% increase in personal debt, whilst average earnings have only increased by 28.5%. It therefore comes as no surprise that a recent survey by leading debt advice organisation Payplan, revealed 80% of us are worried about meeting the cost of Christmas which last year averaged out at £813 per head of the adult population

But what can you do to avoid the post - Christmas financial hangover that’s all too familiar to many of us?

The short answer is firstly, plan ahead and secondly, once you get the other side of the festive season, do a financial reality check, confront the cost of Christmas, then take some practical steps to recovery.

Given that experience tells us prevention is better than cure, the following advice can help avoid the shop in haste, repent at leisure predicament:

Ideally, save to provide a financial buffer for the Christmas budget.
Whether or not you’ve been able to do this, plan what you can afford and set a realistic and affordable spending limit. It’s often easier to stick to your plan by paying in cash so you know exactly when you reach your planned limit.

If you need to resort to credit, remember that store cards and mail order catalogues offer poor value.

It’s all too easy to overlook monthly card repayments during the Christmas holiday and pay dearly for the oversight. Don’t lose sight of your existing financial obligations during the festive season.

To try and control your gift budget, agree a spending ceiling, for example £10 per gift. With adult friends or relatives try to negotiate a “no gifts” pact.

And whilst shopping, don’t ditch your bargain-hunting skills for the festive season - shop around for best value. There may be a risk of not getting what you want, but the pre - Christmas sales can help cut costs.

There’s really no reason to pay over the odds, particularly if you’re using credit, so shop around. The Internet can often help reduce the leg work, but check delivery lead times during the run up to Christmas day.

And after Christmas? Well, the soft option would be to just to let the retail therapy continue into the January sales and beyond.
Alternatively, just take a moment to check precisely how much you owe, and look at the impact this will have on your monthly budget.

Chances are this will be a sobering experience. But the good news is that you will at least be recognising that there comes a time when you have to take control. The sooner you move away from minimum payments and start making inroads into the debt legacy left by Christmas 2005, the sooner you can get back in control of your finances, and your life.

Now may be the time to think about a financial resolution that starts before Christmas. Why wait for the New Year?

PCS Case Study

One PCS member approached Payplan after receiving threats of legal action from his creditors. As a single parent, the client had struggled with the daily costs of running a house and raising a family, to the extent that he had applied for a credit card.

Unfortunately, the client eventually found himself struggling with 4 credit cards and a consolidation loan. When he contacted Payplan, his debts totalled almost £16,000 and he was failing to maintain his mortgage payments. After receiving threats of legal action from his creditors, the client contacted Payplan’s team of specialist debt advisers for help.

After negotiating with his creditors, Payplan were able to establish regular monthly payments to his creditors that he could afford, whilst maintaining his mortgage payments and a good standard of living for himself and his family.

As Payplan do not charge a fee for their service, every penny paid by the client went towards clearing his debts. After 4 years of making regular payments, the client was debt free with his financial freedom restored.

Like Father, like son

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Family debt patterns. Official - It’s inherited!

Recent research now tells us that in addition to inheriting parenting skills from our mothers and fathers, our attitude to debt is also acquired during our formative years.

So our attitudes and the way we handle our personal finances are influenced by the ways in which our parents dealt with money and debt.

However, the moral tone of "Never a lender or a borrower be" would seem to be largely ignored by a significant proportion of the population with UK personal debt having recently passed the £1.1 trillion mark and one in five of adults admitting to being uncomfortable with the amount of money they owe.

So the stark reality is that we believe that avoiding debt is something we should aspire to, yet the temptation of "buy now - pay later" often proves just irresistible.

And if we did pay later or even take advantage of interest free credit, then maybe we could keep control of our finances and not over stretch our household budgets. Regrettably, pitfalls and financial penalties for the unwary or inexperienced are all part of the credit landscape.

However, people can and do learn from their experiences. Anyone who has missed a deadline, and has felt the discomfort of the late payment penalties exacted by credit card companies will want to avoid that money-down-the-drain feeling, if at all possible. So there are lessons to be learned and practised about prompt repayment and budgeting.

We are regularly bombarded by offers of loans, store cards and finance of every shape and form, with the media creating an environment where debt is presented as an acceptable route to the realisation of your dreams

Like most things, credit in moderation may suit your personal circumstances and income level. But if things change or credit limits and borrowing exceeds certain levels, you can quite easily lose control of your finances and effectively lose your financial freedom.

You can get out of your depth and it’s universally acknowledged that the first thing you must do is get expert advice. But where do you turn for free, impartial, debt advice and support that’s immediately accessible and effective?

The answer is Payplan, one of the UK’s leading providers of free debt advice and support.
Payplan have been helping people regain control of their finances and their lives for the best part of 15 years, so can justly claim expertise in their field.

Payplan has developed a detailed understanding of both the debt predicament and the difficulty many people have admitting that a problem exists. The service provided is confidential and free.

The advice provided can range from simple maximisation of income to longer-term debt management solutions. Whatever the route recommended, Payplan aim to help restore your financial freedom. So financial freedom is just a phone call away.

Carefree Debt Free

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Were does true and lasting freedom lie? Oh to be mortgage free but hey - one realistic step at a time. Meanwhile, to shop or not to shop?

There’s something called "work-life balance" which is probably all about choice and maybe getting a better mix of workdays to fun days.

Its always seemed somehow illogical that weekends are shorter than the workweek, making the competition for available weekend leisure opportunities highly intense and frankly, stressful. Just try parking in a town anywhere on a Saturday afternoon.

So why do we do it? Work that is. For all but the fortunate few and excessively wealthy, the length of the working week must enable us to earn enough to provide food, shelter and the occasional luxury. And if we can’t wait for the next pay check, interest rates are low and credit almost instant - a fistful of store cards can be yours in an afternoon. - providing you can first find somewhere to park the car.

The ready availability of credit means for many, the dream of being mortgage-free has now been eclipsed by a new and more pressing ambition.

A period of carefree spending quite often comes to a sudden and shuddering halt with the realisations that the monthly payments have ramped up to the point where something has to give. It’s then that freedom from debt moves to the top of the wish list.

At this point, many mourn the loss of their freedom to spend, whilst others try desperately to solve the problem with strategy of missed or partial monthly payments that just attracts more attention from the lenders, increasing the pressure, discomfort and stress.

What started off as a pleasurable and positive experience suddenly turns, all too quickly, into something that impacts on relationships, family, friends and work.

Spending more or remaining in denial you may think provides some short-term comfort and relief, but sooner or latter, the reality check has to be made if freedom from your debts is to become a realistic choice and placed within your grasp.

But how can you get out of debt where (a) you can’t beg, steal or borrow any more money and (b) there’s really no one you can confide in for help?

Although people may flaunt their size of their mortgage, there’s less cachet attached to out-of-control debt so there’s an inbuilt reluctance to be open and honest about your predicament - even to yourself, So, where do you turn to for impartial, confidential help and advice?

Payplan is a debt help and support organisation that has gained a detailed understanding of both the debt predicament and the difficulty many people have admitting that a problem exists. They have been helping people regain control of their finances and their lives for the best part of 15 years, so can justly claim expertise in their field.

The Paylan service provided is free and can range from simple advice on income maximisation to longer-term debt management solutions. Whatever the route recommended, the aim is the restoration of financial freedom. So freedom from the burden of debt is just a phone call away. Next stop, mortgage freedom?

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