Christmas on credit ‘gift of pain’

STRUGGLING Australians are relying more heavily on credit cards to battle their way through Christmas and many have failed to save money ahead of the most expensive time of year.

Consumers have blamed rising power costs, upcoming holiday expenses and school fees for the financial strain put on them over the coming months.

New St George Bank data shows that just three weeks remain until Christmas and many people have left it late to start tucking away cash.

About 46 per cent of people have failed to stash away money for the festive period and 30 per cent said they would turn to credit to survive.

But despite this St George Bank’s general manager Ross Miller said Australians were becoming “more conscious of what they spend”.

“People are saying Christmas isn’t just about presents and eating, they want to spend money on holidays and quality of life,” he said.

“Four in 10 Australians have a savings plan this year whereas last year it was only two in 10.”

But for those who are not prepared Mr Miller urged them to be honest about how much they actually needed to spend and not go overboard.

The research, which quizzed 1000 Australians, also found men (38 per cent) were more likely to be reliant on credit cards than women (23 per cent).

Australia’s largest debt collection agency Prushka’s chief executive officer Roger Mendelson warned Australians who bury their heads in the sand now that they often end up paying the price in March.

“March is when it starts to hit when you can’t keep deferring payments,” he said.

“You should never spend on a credit card if you can’t pay it off by the end of the month.”