Debtors cutting back this Christmas, research shows

The majority of Britons are planning on spending less over Christmas this year, with presents for families and friends heading the list of cutbacks.

This is according to new research from Abbey Savings, which found that £3.45 billion pounds worth of savings is to be put towards affording the festive season in 2009, suggesting that people are wary of taking on extra debt at this time.

Adults also intend to reduce the amount of socialising they do over this period, with 23 per cent willing to spend less on drinks, meals and parties.

Director of savings and investments with Abbey Reza Attar-Zadeh noted that the fact that many are looking to the future and “scaling back” to limit their expenditures “seems a sensible move”.

However, Abbey’s findings are unsupported by statistics from Money.co.uk, which revealed that 30 million people in the UK will be entering 2010 in debt because of Christmas.

By Sarah Adie