Debt – Europeans Plan for a Difficult Financial Christmas

It has been found that Europeans will limit what they spend this Christmas in an attempt to save money for what they expect to be a financially tough 2009. According to a business consultancy firm, shoppers in the east have been found to be more optimistic than those in the west. Around 40 per cent of Europeans will cut down on what they spend on gifts for people this year and half of them will budget what they are planning on spending. The amount of people who are limiting their spending this year has increased from a third in 2007. On top of this, 60 per cent of the people surveyed said that they also predict that they will be lowering their spending amounts next year as well. The business consultancy firm said that they are expecting significant changes to end-of-year spending in Europe this year and are warning retailers that they can expect lower sales levels this year compared to the past few years. The reason for people spending less this Christmas is due to the increases in the cost of fuel and food resulting in some people finding themselves in debt and needing to seek debt advice. The fear of a global recession has also meant that many people are starting to cut down on the amount that they are spending. However, it seems there are variations from country to country. Experts have found that in Britain, shoppers are planning on spending around £655 on gifts, socialising, food and drink. This amount is down 7 percent from last years figures and this decrease is the first for a decade. However, it must be taken into account that almost a quarter of the respondents were middle-aged home owners who face the biggest worries due to rising bills and the prices of houses falling. As well as this, the figures also showed that 57 per cent of people plan on spending the same this Christmas. In Eastern Europe, consumers seem a lot more optimistic as 66 per cent of people questioned said that they remain optimistic about their economic situation. However, experts believe that shoppers will still focus more on buying items that are on offer which could mean that supermarkets profit more than department stores. Also, a boom in “in-entertainment” products means that people are spending more of their time at home and products such as cooking related items, computer games and karaoke products could do well this Christmas. The business consultancy firm also noticed from their study that a significant portion of Europeans were hoping for cash as their Christmas present. If people are feeling that they are struggling financially, the best thing to do is to seek debt help so that the situation doesn’t escalate out of control.

As a result of the price of food and fuel increasing, many people have found themselves in debt and needing to contact someone for debt advice . If you do find yourself financially struggling the best thing to do is to seek debt help before the situation gets out of control.