Do you set a budget for Christmas?

Millions of us go into the festive season intending to be disciplined and organised with our Christmas shopping.

But it often doesn’t turn out that way, with good intentions quickly falling by the wayside.

According to research by CeX, more than half of Brits (55%) set a budget for Christmas shopping.

But more than four in ten (42%) admit to typically going above their spending limit.

Worse still, almost a quarter (24%) think they’ll end up spending money they don’t have this Christmas.

Most Brits find Christmas shopping stressful

Although it’s great to see millions of people setting a budget for the festive season, it’s worrying that so many can’t stick to it.

But this points to a wider issue - the fact that many people find Christmas quite overwhelming.

Six in ten (60%) people polled said they find Christmas shopping stressful, especially buying presents.

And nearly half (47%) admitted they feel anxious about meeting people’s expectations when they’re buying gifts.

Meanwhile, a similar number (45%) said the pressure to impress fuels their seasonal anxiety.

1 in 10 Christmas shoppers leaving it late

Many people are also adding to their festive stress by leaving everything to the last minute.

Figures from CeX show that about one in seven (14%) usually begin Christmas shopping before October.

But almost one in ten (9%) don’t start until mid-December.

So they’re leaving themselves open to loads of avoidable pressures, like less time to get items delivered, fewer choices in the shops and higher prices.

How to ease the cost of Christmas

If you’re looking for ways to ease the financial pressure this festive season, there are practical steps you can take.

We’ve put together a list of handy tips, such as making a gift list and buying second-hand items.

And, of course, we’d recommend setting and sticking to a budget - check out our guide on how to create a budget to get started.

Try our free Christmas debt calculator

To help you take control of your festive finances before costs snowball, we’ve also launched a free interactive Christmas debt calculator.

It shows you exactly how long your festive borrowing could take to repay and how much interest it might cost.

Click here to find out more about how it works.