Rutland citizens advice says debt from Christmas can be a vicious cycle

People in Peterborough, Stamford and Rutland could be struggling with debt after Christmas.

It's as more than half of adults who expect to run out of money in January will have used up all their monthly income by this week.

It's really stressful for people and really scary

A third of UK adults expect to run short of cash before the end of January, according to financial insights provider Intuit Credit Karma.

Among this group, 53% anticipate they will have spent up by January 15th.

With the strain of Christmas shopping and winter bills to pay for, some may be pushed into debt.

With December wages often being paid early, January can be a month when people need to stretch their pay out for longer.

It's definitely a vicious cycle

Clare Bryan, Deputy Chief Executive Officer at Citizens Advice Rutland, said:

"We generally see a rise towards the end of January because that's usually when bills come in."

"It's really stressful for people and really scary."

"Especially for people who have got to choose between paying their rent, their council tax, heating their homes, or paying back their credit card. It's making that difficult decision of what they prioritise."

"It's definitely a vicious cycle because people will use credit cards as a means of funding things in December."

"Then the bill comes in January with the interest added on, so it's more than you thought you were paying."

"All of a sudden by next Christmas you're still paying this Christmas off."

All of a sudden by next Christmas you're still paying this Christmas off

A quarter of people said that they had spent more during the most recent festive season than in previous years.

29% of people said they will avoid socialising in January, to help their finances.

Some people surveyed said they were also still paying off costs from previous Christmas periods in addition to their spending in 2024.

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