Household Bills
Bank of Mum and Dad to pick up the Christmas costs
A spate of overspending in the run up to Christmas leads a third of Brits (28%) to rely on their immediate family to host them and pick up the tab over the festive period according research from comparethemarket.com.
Indeed 60% of those surveyed admitted to contributing very little or nothing to the cost of Christmas while staying with their families, while a further 30% said this break from spending helps alleviate their overall financial woes.
However – aside from dodgy Christmas cracker jokes – one thing not being shared at the dinner table will any discussions of these financial worries, with three quarters of those polled (76%) saying they stay tight lipped about their financial problems.
“Overspending during the run up to Christmas is so common it’s almost become the norm,” says blogger Ricky Willis, a member of Institute of Inertia Advisory Panel and editor of skintdad.co.uk.
“Before becoming a parent myself, I spent many Christmases back with my family after my festive spending got a little out of control in the run up to the big day.
“I look back and think if I’d planned my finances a little better I might have spent less Christmases struggling to scrape enough together for my train fare come Christmas Eve!”
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