Consumers warned to avoid additional debt in sales

With Christmas Day now over and New Year still to come many people will spend the week in between the two getting some retail therapy in the sales, which have started all across the country both online and on the High Street. The sales, for many people, provide an opportunity to save money on items that they were planning to buy anyway, which can be hugely beneficial, but for many others they simply present an opportunity to make purchases that they normally would not make simply because the price is right.

There are concerns that many people could find themselves getting into huge amounts of debt by spending unnecessarily in the sales, which is then added to the debt that they may have accrued in the run up to Christmas when purchasing gifts and making other festive purchases. Many people buy things in the sales even thought they don’t particularly want or need them simply because the price is lower than it would normally be.

Officials have warned that by February of 2011 consumers in Britain will have £150 million worth of debt on their credit cards simply due to having shopped in the sales. When added to the debt that millions of us have built up in the run up to Christmas, this could amount to a staggering £2.05 billion worth of credit card debt to kick off the New Year according to figures.

One debt counsellor stated: “This year, more than any other, we would appeal to people not to get carried away and to use credit carefully indeed. With rising prices and the threat of one million more redundancies, budgeting for 2011 is going to be difficult for most people in Britain. To think you are on top of your finances by paying off the minimum each month is a fool’s paradise.” 

Tags: run, High Street, credit card, huge amounts, credit card debt, GBP

Related posts:

Consumers to cut back on Christmas spending to avoid debtConsumers in UK cutting back on spending to try and get rid of card debtExperts Offer Tips for Saving To Avoid DebtWill VAT rise add to debt worries?How To Avoid Debt While Using Credit Cards

Filed under: News

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!

View the original article here

Posted in: additional,avoid,Consumers,sales,warned