Don't let the Credit Crunch ruin Xmas
August, 27, 2008
Families feeling the financial pinch needn't spend a fortune to make Christmas special this year. The rising cost of living may leave some feeling like this Christmas could be a washout but there is an array of affordable and even free things to do to keep a family amused this festive season it has been claimed.
Hannah Collingbourne, spokesperson for Visit London, said that there was no need to spend a fortune to take advantage of London's Christmas events. She also said that in general "London is really good at providing lots of free events and things to do."
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The capital attracted 25.45 million visitors last year and has a tourist industry worth approximately £16.6 billion, according to Visit London. When faced with bored children on their school holidays on top of all the stress that Christmas can bring, it can be difficult to think of things to appeal to the whole family, as well as the purse strings. The Geffrye museum in London is an ideal place to visit at Christmas, when it offers special exhibitions that are all free including the Christmas Past exhibition which will run from 25th November to 4th January next year.
Those who just want to soak up the festive atmosphere and also save the pennies can take advantage of the Christmas lights throughout the city and window-shop while they stroll. However, people that want to get friends and relatives something a little different from the usual gift then the Christmas markets throughout the city could provide something unusual without breaking the bank.
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Figures from Abbey Savings show that 5.6 million Brits admit they have changed their spending attitudes in the last year and a half, with the amount of people regularly saving money up by 51 per cent. Reza Attar-Zadeh, director of savings and investments at Abbey said: "We're increasingly more likely to put any money we can spare into a savings account and with Christmas fast approaching and prices rising faster than incomes, it's wise for consumers to plan ahead and become more savvy with their spending habits."
The figures show that in 2006, 37 per cent of people would describe themselves as a "spender", but that figure is now down to 25 per cent, with 1.4 million more people now putting money aside every two weeks.
Chief European economist Jonathon Loynes of Capital Economics has said that the current economic climate is slowing down, with figures from the latest Retail Traffic Index showing that the amount of shoppers visiting non-food retail stores has dropped by two per cent when compared to the same period last year.
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Basic essentials have gone up in price, with milk, cheese and bread 19 per cent pricier than this time last year according to figures from the Office for National Statistics.
The price of oil is also 91 per cent more expensive than it was this time last year.
Last Christmas clients of firm Farepak lost their savings after the company collapsed. Farepak offered customers a way of saving money throughout the year to be redeemed in voucher form for stores like Argos and Woolworths. When the firm collapsed the average customer lost £400, although some lost as much as £2,000, according to the BBC.
