To ask do you put Christmas on a credit card or use a loan?honestly??

[jalepenopopper]

Just that really, having a discussion with my dh after watching a programme where the family take out a loan each Christmas and pay it off all year. He thought it was crazy, I said it's more common than he thinks! I think more people do than they admit. So...do you?

No I spend within my means. Which is fairly low.

Yes this year I have , not huge amount but due to large number of reasons all related to Covid . I just don't have the money , my kids lost their Dad this year so I can't add to their burden by saying we've no money for Christmas. It'll be fine ,honestly least if my worries currently.

I save with Park throughout the year and then get 2 love2shop cards in November to spend for Christmas
Genuine question. What is tbe advantage of saving with a company like Park rather than having a savings account just for Christmas?

I remember years ago people used to save for Christmas hampers but one year the company went bust. I remembered then thinking why let a company have your money and decide what goes into your hamper rather than just pick what you want ( I'm talking about people that were quite capable of shopping not people that obviously couldnt get to the shops for whatever reason)

I just save money each month throughout the year and use that. Would not be getting into debt for one day- just live within your means? One day is not worth a year paying a loan / credit card back imo

I have been known to but not for a few years now.

I'm in Ireland and there's no extra protection here when using a credit card so I don't have one or use one ever.

Genuine question. What is tbe advantage of saving with a company like Park rather than having a savings account just for Christmas?
If it is in a separate account it is accessible and once something is needed the savings will end.
It is very hard to have savings when on a shoe string as something is always short.
I pay off hampers throughout the year as if they're a household bill, in December I have €500 vouchers and food.
I mostly spend them on myself as the DC are done by December now we have 2 wages coming in.
It's backwards credit.

This year I have used my overdraft for Christmas. We’ve had unexpected things happen which have left us tighter than usual this year.
People seem to think that anyone using credit to pay for Christmas is because they are having some expensive excessive Christmas but it’s not necessarily true. No adult gifts, no fancy food shopping, no mountains of expensive presents for the dc and no days out that cost very much here.

It’s easy to sit smugly and say live within your means but when things are tight what else are you supposed to do? Should my dc have no gifts?

We put it on credit card like everything we buy . We pay off our credit card in full every month .

No - we would only use a credit card for very expensive holidays, but if we couldn't afford to pay for Christmas we'd just scale it down. Or we'd pay for things throughout the year to stagger the cost of presents

I don't think the OP refers to people purchasing on their credit card and clearing it in January.
OP imo was asking about those who borrow over a year, or use the card and pay it over the year causing a weekly dent in already poor financial conditions and often make a minimum payment.

Provident is popular around here borrow €500 pay back €680 at €30 each week. It's a trap.

Credit unions often run a "Christmas club". You can just put aside some cash during the year and they unlock it in the autumn. It's all protected.

I use credit union my child benefit goes in there all year then I take it out in December you can get a loan of them if you want but thankfully I've not had todo that.

This is my first Christmas as a single mum and I have about £150 on my credit card but will pay it off when I get paid next week. I buy throughout the year normally but when I left my ex I had to leave a lot behind. Tbf it helps that I have a lot less presents to buy this year.

No, just use disposable income and spread it over 3 or 4 pay days.

Neither, I have all year round and budget to suit. I try to do my best to not get into any form of debt other than my car and mortgage. But no judgement to those who do.

No.

I refuse to get into debt for Christmas.

No way

I have done in the past but eventually worked out that spending one year's money paying off last Christmas meant I had nothing for this year and the cycle repeated. To get out of this cycle I just decided to tell the kids there'd be no presents one year because Santa decided they'd been naughty, that way I started the year with a clean slate and could save for the next Christmas rather than pay off the previous one.

No, I can't get credit cards or loans anyway. I start buying bits in October or the January sales and a lot of it is second hand. We only do small presents for adults.

Well yes we do buy everything on a credit card BUT we always pay the balance in full every month so no interest charges and a nice wodge of “cash back” every quarter. Last quarter we got £70 of vouchers which we actually used towards our Christmas food this year.

So yes all on credit card but no resulting debt IYSWIM.

Unfortunately many people do incur huge debt every year but DH and I both believe in only spending what you have. This did mean many very sparse Christmases over the years but we were never in debt.

@AlwaysLatte

No, I never buy anything on credit.

I put all holidays and big presents on credit card for extra consumer protection. I pay them off immediately so no interest is charged. (Also good for my credit rating.)

Incidentally that means I also split the cost of Christmas in three which is actually also quite helpful.

Things on the debit card (food shops, smaller presents, out and about shopping) come out of November and December pay via debit card (depending when bought).

Credit card stuff for extra protection comes out largely in Jan (if bought in Dec) or very occasionally Dec for stuff bought in Nov.

I also do buy things throughout the year if I spot them early. For instance I got my mum's present in September and one of DH's in July.

I even picked up some wrapping paper, Christmas cards and extra decs in January when they were dirt cheap.

There's nothing wrong with credit used appropriately. In fact it's often wise financial management.

No never take out a loan for anything. I start buying months in advance if I can’t afford it then DS has to adjust his expectations. I know I am lucky though my career has progressed since he was small so I can afford things like a console that I wouldn’t of been able to a few years ago. I was the kid whose mother couldn’t afford the latest toys etc. So I am grateful that we have a more secure lifestyle then my childhood. I honestly wouldn’t judge anyone for taking out a loan for their children.

No absolutely not.

I'm fortunately in a position now where I have no budget for Christmas, however there's been many a year when DD was small that Christmas didn't come because I was dirt poor.
I never even considered taking out a loan or putting it on a CC, the extra money for the repayments each month was something I didn't have.

No but like PPs I buy early and throughout the year so I'm usually done with most of my present buying by October time. I wouldn't like to have to buy everything all in one go.