Two in three not saving for Christmas, finds Alliance & Leicester

Almost two out of every three people in the UK admits to not putting any money away for the Christmas period, Alliance & Leicester has found.

09:14 06 December 2004

Almost two out of every three people in the UK admits to not putting any money away for the Christmas period, Alliance & Leicester has found.

But, despite repeated warnings about the state of the financial education in UK, Alliance & Leicester's wealth tracker index found that teenagers (16 to 19-year-olds) were the most prudent, with 46 per cent of them putting money away to fund their holiday spending plans.

Last month Abbey found that people are planning to spend 423 on average over the Christmas period, with almost one in five people (19 per cent) planning to fund Christmas with credit cards.

Alliance & Leicester's research revealed that of the 35 per cent of people who did save money for Christmas, they put away on average 182.13 - 30 less than last year.

"Many families are left counting the costs of Christmas well into the new year, so it's a concern to see that only a third of Britons have saved any money this year," noted Nathan Barber-Kebby, product manager for savings at Alliance & Leicester.

"Christmas is an expensive time and our findings indicate that people are either intending to buy on credit, or will spend less cash in the shops this winter.

"I would encourage people to start saving early next year, saving even a small amount each month throughout the year can help to relieve the financial hangover people so often experience in January."

Those in their 50's have saved the least for the festive season, with 70 per cent not putting anything aside.
The only age group who saved more than last year were those in their 20's; who put an average of 193.87 away each, compared with 187.35 in 2003.