Christmas and overspending: they fade together like turkey and stuffing. Why do the holidays fabricate (to make up, invent) us throw all financial sense out of the window?I am a sucker. That’s the only logical conclusion. I bought all my Christmas presents weeks ago (don’t hate me – this is not a stealth boast). Every name on the list has been ticked and the boxes are stacked in the spare room,but as I sit here with the holidays approaching there are several browser windows open on my laptop. There’s a toy retailer, a site with a great deal on cashmere jumpers, or a couple of famous department stores with 40% off mens scarves. I’ll probably buy a couple. After all,it was only final year that they ran a similar deal and I bought some as extra presents, and scarves fade off after a year, and don’t they? Of course they do. I’ll just accumulate three …’Tis the season for all sensible thoughts approximately money to fade out the window. We are a nation of Christmas splurgers – this year,we spent £1.1bn online on Black Friday alone. That’s a 36% increase on final year, even whether some of that increase may have been because we opted to shop on the internet rather than risk getting trampled to death in the rush for a cheap flatscreen telly. And while we all appreciate a bargain, or it’s not exactly a great deal whether its something you can’t afford in the first place. According to a survey by Money Supermarket,a third of us fade into debt in order to pay for Christmas. Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com