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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

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

291 replies

jalepenopopper · 22/12/2021 22:05

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?

OP posts:
Blossom64265 · 22/12/2021 23:18

Even in years that my budget has been extremely tight, I have always lived within my means. I can’t say I have never taken a loan. I do have a mortgage and there have been times I have had a car payment, but I wouldn’t use credit to pay for anything smaller than those unless it was an absolute essential and I had no other option.

galacticpixels · 22/12/2021 23:18

I don't but I know people who do so it's not uncommon.

At the start of the year we set a budget for Christmas, divide it by 12, and put that amount into a savings account every month when we get paid. Between the two of us, it feels like very little every month, but it's so nice having it sitting there when we go to buy Christmas stuff.

This is our approach to all budgeting really (car insurance, holidays etc). If we can't afford it over 12 months then we consider it out of our budget as we wouldn't be able to magic up money when the time comes without putting it on a credit card...

wejammin · 22/12/2021 23:20

Just to buck the trend, I do! I use a mix of current account which includes an overdraft, and a credit card. This year have also used PayPal 'pay in 3' quite a lot. I fully acknowledge I'm terrible at budgeting. I do have a budget, and a Monzo account for my disposable income, but really struggle to stick to it. I have 3 kids, one has a late Oct birthday and one has an early Feb birthday so between October and March my finances can be a bit of a mess.
I was doing ok-ish this year but then car and tumble dryer both needed replacing in the same week and it totally wiped us out.
I don't worry about it too much. We're lucky enough to have fairly stable (as much as they can be!) professional jobs and whilst we're not wealthy we're comfortable, I like to buy the kids nice presents whilst they're still young, and life seems too short to stress unduly. We have a lot of other stresses in our life, but not this.

Cameleongirl · 22/12/2021 23:20

@Blossom64265

Even in years that my budget has been extremely tight, I have always lived within my means. I can’t say I have never taken a loan. I do have a mortgage and there have been times I have had a car payment, but I wouldn’t use credit to pay for anything smaller than those unless it was an absolute essential and I had no other option.
^^ This. We've had lavish Christmases and restrained ones; it's never occurred to me to run up debts to pay for them - or have credit card debt in general. It would really worry me!
msssm · 22/12/2021 23:21

Welll I have because I had nothing to begin with. Disabled single parent. Had one high interest cc, took out another lower to transfer the balance then spent on both. I have a large family (children and grandchildren) and can't not give them a good Xmas it's too important to me.
Feel sick about my debt. I'll be paying it until next Christmas easily, when the same thing will happen again. I don't see an end to the vicious cycle. It is what it is.

gogohm · 22/12/2021 23:21

No. I save up and don't spend what I don't have even if that meant second hand gifts

TheGarbageManCan · 22/12/2021 23:21

In the past I’d have used credit cards. However now we are debt free (v fortunate) I put money aside every month and it covers DD’s birthday and all Christmas expenses. Works well for us although I appreciate it may not be achievable for all.

Gertie75 · 22/12/2021 23:22

I've never had a credit card but did go into my overdraft one year for Christmas then struggled to pay the next mortgage installment and had to spread it over the next 3 months payments, I felt really sick with worry about it so have never done it since.

Happyhappyday · 22/12/2021 23:22

Absolutely not. If I couldn’t afford to pay out of pocket for things I wouldn’t buy them.

Snugglepumpkin · 22/12/2021 23:22

I don't personally because I save all year round for pretty much everything in my budget & some of that is allocated to cover Christmas, birthdays etc..

Timeisavirtue · 22/12/2021 23:23

Nope, I save all year, sometimes I spend a couple of hundred over and that goes on the credit card and I pay it off in January when I get my big pay packet.

FilthyforFirth · 22/12/2021 23:26

No but like a lot of pp I save all year round. DH and I save £100 a month between us that goes into a specific account. Each time we get a payrise we increase the amount.

roarfeckingroarr · 22/12/2021 23:28

Only in so far as I put everything on my credit card to get the points and pay it off at the end of the month in full. I don't have any debt outside of my mortgage:

LonginesPrime · 22/12/2021 23:28

I just don’t understand why anyone would get into debt for a Christian holiday when that’s not what it’s about.

One reason for my wanting the DC to have a Christmas tree, stockings, crackers and a Christmas dinner, etc is because when they got to school age, everyone was talking about Christmas and all the traditions, etc, and I didn't want them to feel the humiliation and shame of knowing how poor we were after I was left as a single parent following their abusive father's (very welcome) departure.

It was nothing to do with my feelings about Christianity (I doubt I would have ended up in that predicament in the first place without the church, tbh), but for me it was about wanting my DC to not feel how poor we were, especially at Christmas when all their friends and teachers would be talking about their Christmases in January.

I just wanted them to have a normal childhood and some happy memories, especially after all the traumatic ones. And I don't regret it for a moment.

CoffeeRunner · 22/12/2021 23:29

DH earns a lot more than me (due to my 10 year career break when DCs were younger). By choice we split household bills pretty evenly but DH is excellent at saving (unlike me).

Over the year he puts away enough for our summer holiday, Christmas & unexpected bills such as car repairs.

I've always been terrible at saving so it works well for us to manage our money this way.

Whiskersonkittens21 · 22/12/2021 23:31

I work in debt advice and yes, many many people have to fund Christmas through credit or taking out finance agreements. Before it went into administration Bright House was common for Christmas gifts like PlayStations or new mobile phones.

A new common place is people using finance like zilch to spread the cost of the Christmas food shop over weekly payments.

Unfortunately it's a sign of the times and people will always do what they feel they need to do to give children a Christmas.

No judgements here, parents just want the best for the children.

Chely · 22/12/2021 23:36

No. I have a bank account for birthdays/Christmas, I have a monthly standing that goes in to it and I budget.

Itsmeandhim · 22/12/2021 23:36

When we first had children we put 'christmas' on our credit card.
The stress of paying it back nearly broke up our marriage.
Since then we have saved up each month and if we didn't have enough
money it wasn't purchased.

foxgoosefinch · 22/12/2021 23:37

I buy things throughout the year normally, often in sales, so that in December it’s just the big food shop.

Next year though, I’m thinking I’ll put £50 aside each month from January to October and get everyone vouchers - I’m fed up with buying stuff early and then trying to find places to store it!

GatoradeMeBitch · 22/12/2021 23:39

When I was younger and broke, yes. Now I never would.

ufucoffee · 22/12/2021 23:39

Notice a lot of the sanctimonious replies on here are 'we' and have a dual income.

WeatherwaxOn · 22/12/2021 23:41

No, I budget. I tend to buy bits through the year and ask people nearer the time what they'd like.
If I can't afford something, I don't buy it.

1forAll74 · 22/12/2021 23:42

No way never. never had a credit card or a loan. It's very foolish to get into debt, and not necessary to spend wildly on gifts for children or adults., this is not what Christmas is all about.

When my daughter was at UNI many years ago, she had a part time job in the evenings,at one of the big catalogue places. She started in the new year one time, and her job was to phone people, who had ordered thousands of pounds worth of goods before Christmas, and then never offered to start paying any instalments back. some time for months on end. she got a load of hassle and nastiness from lots of people, who had bought loads of things, like kids toys, clothes, and three piece suites etc., and now said they had no money to pay anything for the stuff they ordered.

willithappen · 22/12/2021 23:45

I have used Klarna pay 30 days later for a bit of mine so that would be similar

MissConductUS · 22/12/2021 23:47

My Christmas expenses go on a credit card that give me 2% cash back then I pay it off in full in January.

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