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Cautious Consumers Dread Scroogesque Festivities Despite Growing Optimism for 2010, says The Money Shop
• 72 per cent forced to go back to basics to manage meagre budgets
• Men buck the trend with 35 per cent splashing out on full festive trimmings
• 12 per cent savvy women hock their bling to make Christmas go with a swing
• Notoriously frugal Northerners fear the cost of Christmas (50 per cent)
• Almost one in three (32 per cent) southerners plan a cracker of a Christmas
With more than one in ten (12 per cent) disappointed after a meagre, ‘scroogesque' Christmas 2008*, The Money Shop reveals how UK consumers are preparing for and feeling about the forthcoming festivities.
According to The Money Shop Monitor_ - a quarterly barometer of the nation's cash related habits - more than two thirds (72 per cent) are far from ‘Walking in the Air' when it comes to planning their Christmas fun as they prepare to provide a lot more Christmas with a lot less sparkle.
Those expecting an abundance of seasonal treats and over-indulgent gifts to be lavished upon them, could be left feeling neglected come Christmas morning as many shoppers have cut their budget (35 per cent) and only a handful (3 per cent) are determined to splash out and spoil their loved ones in an attempt to make up for another turgid financial year.
Andrew Bryan of The Money Shop, the UK's leading instant cash provider said: "There are plenty of positives to be taken from these findings. Consumers appear to be taking sensible measures to save money where they can. With over a third (35 per cent) actively seeking out tips for a thrifty Xmas, almost a quarter (22 per cent) levying a spending cap per person and one in ten (12 per cent) cashing in unwanted gold and jewellery to cover the cost of Christmas."
Despite their frivolous shop-a-holic reputations, women are far more reserved when it comes to coughing up for Christmas. Almost double the amount of women say they are scrimping and saving for Xmas 09 than men (41 per cent) and half the amount of women are prepared to fritter their hard earned cash on luxury gifts than men (42 per cent).
Whilst male squanderers are four times as likely_ as the fairer and more cautious sex to flash their cash this Christmas, they are also twice as likely_ to find themselves frantically searching for gold coins to pay off the debt they are willing to amass during the season of goodwill.
Also unprepared to go cold turkey at Christmas are one in three (32 per cent) fun-seeking Southerners who are striving for a plentiful and extravagant affair - despite the cost, whilst half (50 per cent) notoriously frugal northerners are approaching the festivities with mounting trepidation about being able to afford to shower their nearest and dearest with the Christmas they deserve.
Mr Bryan continues: "The Money Shop Monitor indicates that Christmas 2009 could be a bit of a mixed bag. Depending on where you live and who plays Santa's little helper when it comes to braving the shops in the annual present dash, UK consumers could be in for a skimpy festive season sparse on frivolity or a bountiful bonanza of a bash complete with all the extravagancies associated with a proper Christmas."
As for the ‘Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come' - consumers are largely optimistic that 2010 will bring with it a surge of improvement, with more than a fifth (23 per cent) expecting their finances to improve come the New Year. But still managing to thwart slowly mounting positivism are the familiar financial woes about growing unemployment (38 per cent) the rising cost of living (60 per cent) and the increasing threat of mortgage interest rates, which is plaguing a quarter (25 per cent) of homeowners.
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