Now is the time for financial review, claims bank

The early part of the year is the right time for indebted consumers to reassess their personal finances, according to Sainsbury’s Bank.

With millions of consumers dealing with serious debt management problems, the bank has suggested that January is a good time of year for people to turn over a new leaf in relation to their spending and borrowing.

Many people accumulated large amounts of credit card debt over Christmas, but there are a number of competitive deals made available in the early months of the year by financial services firms, Sainsbury’s Bank maintains.

“Now is the time of year to sit down and look at your finances,” said Donald Macleod, head of cards at Sainsbury’s Bank.

“Appraise where you are and see if there’s a better way of handling that debt; look at loans, look at restructuring, the zero per cent interest rates out there.”

Figures released recently by Sainsbury’s Bank indicate that almost 18 per cent of all festive spending in the UK last year was funded via credit card debt.