The poll by vouchercloud.com, which looked at the spending habits of adult Britons in the lead up to Christmas, revealed that 66% struggled to make their November pay cheque last past the first week of December.

Nearly 85% said the money is spent on ‘preparing for Christmas’ – including buying Christmas gifts, stocking up on alcohol and food, and socialising.

The study also found that 57% of Britons will go into debt in order to fund the Christmas season this year, with many saying that the financial impact of Christmas is felt until April of the following year.

Meanwhile, a separate survey by GoCompare.com found that the average Brit expects to fork-out £367 over the festive period on food, drink, presents, parties and greetings cards, with 23% stating they will need to borrow money on a credit or store card to pay for it.

Matthew Wood of vouchercloud said: “For those of us that get into the Christmas spirit, it’s always an expensive time of year. Not only do we spend money on gifts for friends and family, we also spend money on preparing the house with decorations, as well as stocking up on Christmas groceries and the inevitable party drinks.”

“It’s a bit of an eye opener, though, that the pay cheque is wiped out that quickly. We’d strongly recommend that people shop around for the best deals.

“If you need to make the budget stretch that bit further, then it’s important that you get money off wherever possible. Remember that retailers are fighting for your custom in a competitive market, so there should be discounts aplenty.”