Household finances at breaking point

antrobus

That Which? report did make me laugh;

The research also found that a quarter (25%) of people, 13 million, could only afford to pay for Christmas by borrowing. Overall four in ten (42%) used credit cards, loans or overdrafts to fund their festive spending. A third of people (34%) also dipped into their savings, taking an average of £450 from their accounts.

Isn't this just another way of saying; lots of people spend more money at Christmas? Isn't it the case that lots of people have always 'paid for Christmas' by either borrowing or 'dipping into their savings'? How else could it be paid for? I had exactly £431.49 in my hypothecated 'help pay for Christmas' savings a/c. Is the fact that said money has actually been spent somehow a bad thing?

gazter

Carl31 wrote: »

Being 'poor' isn't just about how much income you have, its the choices you make with what you do with that income

There are many, many people in this country, including many of my own friends and family that need lessons in how to budget and prioritise how they use their income

The other big problem in this country is obesity. Yesterday on LBC, they were claiming 65% of the population is now over weight or obese, how can this be if no one has any money? The various takeaway chains seem to be doing OK too

With higher levels of obesity for people on benefits.

grizzly1911

antrobus wrote: »

That Which? report did make me laugh;

Isn't this just another way of saying; lots of people spend more money at Christmas? Isn't it the case that lots of people have always 'paid for Christmas' by either borrowing or 'dipping into their savings'? How else could it be paid for? I had exactly £431.49 in my hypothecated 'help pay for Christmas' savings a/c. Is the fact that said money has actually been spent somehow a bad thing?

There is a difference in having an accrual stashed than just banging it on the plastic without a strategy to resolve.

Going4TheDream

Loughton_Monkey wrote: »

Phew! That's 100% tough.

We learn that yet another 250,000 extra people got jobs in the 3 months to December 2013, and 100,000 came off the jobless list. Why is it getting harder for them? Presumably because they now have to get their asses out of bed every morning?

Record retail turnover in the lead up to Christmas? Funny symptom of more and more people finding it harder and harder don't you think?

Ah yes. You probably mean the self-inflicted misery. They all took out huge expensive payday loans to go on this record shopping spree, and now they have learned you have to pay it back?

I am no liberal lefty by any means but I do have a heart. How many of those people are on 'zero hour contracts' on minimum wage , no guaranteed hours or therefore not really being aware of what they will earn from one week to the next, perhaps how they will pay their rent. feed themselves, pay their bills or travel to work, or are part time hours and underemployed?

!!!!!! its must be so easy to sit there whilst you keep toasting 'gin and tonics all round' being all smug, without actually seeing that some people are actually struggling despite actually doing their best and what is right.

Perhaps the hardest decision you have to make is whether to have 'Bombay sapphire or perhaps only Gordon's'. Perhaps you need to get out more, and away from your social circle and actually see what is happening in the 'real world' for a huge number of people. The reality is 'eat or heat' for some it is 'eat themselves or feed their kids', working people are just as likely to be in poverty as unemployed.... is that really fair?

antrobus

grizzly1911 wrote: »

There is a difference in having an accrual stashed than just banging it on the plastic without a strategy to resolve.

What makes you think that the "four in ten" who "used credit cards, loans or overdrafts to fund their festive spending" are not in possession of a "strategy to resolve"?

grizzly1911

antrobus wrote: »

What makes you think that the "four in ten" who "used credit cards, loans or overdrafts to fund their festive spending" are not in possession of a "strategy to resolve"?

Life........

kabayiri

The Christmas problem is within our means to resolve I would suggest.

Is it really healthy as a society to have such a peak in consumption over a relatively small period of time?

Suppose we shifted the focus of big ticket gift item to birthdays and not Christmas. This would result in a spreading of consumption over the year.

I have no problem with a Christmas winter feast, and some level of over indulgence in food and wine.

It's this obsession with big ticket items like trainers and mobile phones and laptops which concerns me. I fancied a new computer, but the old one wasn't exactly broken. I therefore didn't need one.

antrobus

grizzly1911 wrote: »

Life........

Never let facts get in the way of your own prejudices, eh?:rotfl:

antrobus

kabayiri wrote: »

The Christmas problem is within our means to resolve I would suggest.....

Indeed it is. To the extent that you care to regard it as a "problem" that it is. The point I was trying to make earlier was that I see no reason to regard the "Christmas problem" as being bigger now than it was in before. People have always paid for Christmas by either borrowing or dipping into savings. The fact that they have done so in 2013, just as they did before in 2012, 2011, 2010 etc is not, of itself, worthy of note.

Loughton_Monkey

grizzly1911 wrote: »

Do people with PDLs shop in John Lewis and Next? Surprised they let them in and don't block their IP addresses.

With a growing population records are likely to broken year on year.

When did I say anything about the poor shopping at John Lewis? Record retail sales applies to the total, which includes Argo, Lidl, and even those nasty little rip-off "pound shops".