Saving cash at Yuletide
Tony Pycroft of Julious Bailifs.
CASH-STRAPPED shoppers are being urged to keep a tight rein on the purse strings this Christmas with a seasonal warning from a prominent district businessman.
Gateforth-based Tony Pycroft, of Julious Baliffs, urges people to think first before going on a spend, spend, spend spree, following a new YouGov survey.
He said: “Everybody wants to enjoy Christmas and we all probably actually need it too. But it’s not worth paying out a lot if it causes you stress in the long run.”
He explained: “In the early months of the year, there are always people who we come across, for whom Christmas was the final straw. It can be the one thing that pushes family finances over the edge.”
His warning comes as a YouGov survey says almost one in three people in the UK will go into debt this Christmas. Of 2,015 adults polled, 11 per cent expect to lose track of their spending and 31 per cent will go into debt to fund their Christmas.
“Come January, families can suddenly have more loans to pay off, or the bit of spare money they had for emergencies has gone. And then pretty soon, they can’t pay this bill or that one or the council tax or the rent,” said Mr Pycroft.
The respected businessman, whose bailiffs operate throughout the country, has noticed the problem over many years and continued: “It can snowball and it can quickly get out of control.
“We understand that people are desperate to have a good Christmas, and they deserve it, but as bailiffs we see the other side of the coin. We would say it shouldn’t be at the expense of feeling even more stressed as soon as Christmas is over.”
Top tips for saving money this festive season include asking guests to bring their own drinks if you’re throwing a Christmas party; throw your party a little later in the evening; agree with neighbours at New Year to have separate courses at separate houses, Do some free things that you can “give” to your family. In addition take a look at your finances. Decide how much you can spend, don’t buy groceries for the week before Christmas and live off what you have in the kitchen cupboards, keep the cost of presents down by making agreements with family and friends and don’t buy a Christmas tree, decorate a plant.
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Weather for Goole
Thursday 23 May 2013
Today
Light showers
Temperature: 6 C to 10 C
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