North Yorkshire families urged to plan Christmas budget to avoid getting into debt

It's exactly two months to the big day

Author: Kathy GreenPublished 25th Oct 2024

With exactly two months till Christmas - people in North Yorkshire are being warned not to overspend and saddle themselves with debt.

Charities are urging people to think about their budgeting now.

Ruth Howard-Birt is a debt centre manager for Christians Against Poverty in Skipton and says it's also good to manage expectations: "Start to talk to children about, you know, how much it costs, the bills and that maybe some of the presents they've got on their list are a little bit more than you can afford, rather than kind of facing disappointment later on in December and January, it's good to talk to kids in advance."

She also has this advice ahead of the festive period: "There are budgeting apps and things that you can put on your phone for free, or just keeping an eye on your mobile banking app to see what money you've got going out to try to stay above zero during the Christmas period will all be really helpful."

"Maybe put a price cap on what you're happy to spend on people, and just really stick to that and everybody would understand this Winter. So just to be more open about saying, you know, I can only really afford a £5 gift or a £10 gift."

You can get more advice and support from Christians Against Poverty here

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