Christmas 2010 is barely over, but the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is already advising people to start thinking about Christmas 2011 and most importantly how they are going to finance it!

With reports that UK shoppers will owe £150m on their credit cards come February 2011, it’s not surprising that advice to plan ahead is being given now.

Head of Campaigns at the Office of Fair Trading, David Murphy, said the following:

It may seem a bit early to be thinking about next Christmas, when many of us are still eating the leftovers from this one. But we want people to be in a position to enjoy Christmas without getting into financial difficulties and that often requires a bit of forward planning. It’s all too easy to overspend so that we can create a special and memorable time for our friends and family. The idea of saving money can be daunting but there is practical help available.

If you want to start planning ahead, visit their Save Xmas website which gives a comparison of different solutions to saving money for next Christmas.

If you’re worried about how you’ll pay off your debts from Christmas 2010 before you can even think about next Christmas, it’s worth speaking to one of our advisors to see if we have a debt solution which could be right for you. Click here to complete our short online form now and one of our advisors will call you back. Alternatively, you can call us at your own convenience on 0800 019 2095.