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05 January 2006
One in ten Brits are already saving for next Christmas, according to statistics from Britannia - even though twelfth night has not yet fallen.
Apparently 4.6 million of us are already stashing the cash and making plans for a festive bonanza which lies well over 11 months away, perhaps being put on alert by the average £718.90 Christmas spend for the current season.
Around 17 million people made this outlay using their credit cards, often counting the cost with a typical interest accrual of £58.73.
The startling news for those who make only the minimum payment of their balance each month, though, was that the average festive outlay would take approximately 18 years to repay, with interest of over £900 racked up.
Neville Richardson, Britannia's chief executive, said: "We do not really have a culture of saving in the UK these days but those who do, really reap the benefits of being organised with their money."
He concluded that, if people get into the habit of saving, they can earn interest as opposed to paying it off - with £77.23 potentially being added to a person's festive pot if they store away the typically-spent amount in the right account.
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