One in three households with children ‘will struggle to afford Christmas’ | Business News
The findings from debt charity StepChange come amid warnings that the tempo of store worth rises may begin going again up once more in the brand new yr.
By Daniel Binns, enterprise reporter
One in three households with children will struggle to afford a household Christmas this yr, in accordance to a brand new report.
The YouGov ballot of greater than 2,000 adults additionally discovered that an estimated 8% of the inhabitants – round 4 million individuals – might be counting on credit score to cowl their prices over the festive interval.
Debt charity StepChange, which commissioned the survey, stated it got here after “two years of value of dwelling pressures” on family budgets, with costs remaining excessive regardless of the latest easing in the speed of inflation.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has additionally issued a renewed warning that the tempo of store worth rises may even begin going again up once more in 2024, as companies face plenty of further headwinds in the brand new yr.
StepChange chief government Vikki Brownridge stated: “People, particularly these with children, understandably really feel pressured round Christmas time to spend cash to create particular moments and reminiscences with their family members.
“However this strain can typically encourage individuals to spend greater than they’ll afford, and switch to credit score to cowl these prices.
“Against a backdrop of almost two years of high inflation, it’s very likely that relying too heavily on credit at Christmas could lead to debt problems in the New Year.”
She added: “At StepChange, we see some of our busiest days during January each year, with last January being our busiest month for several years.”
The ballot discovered that total round one in 4 individuals worry they are going to struggle to afford additional bills this festive season. Some 2% of respondents – the equal of round a million individuals – stated they’d not rejoice Christmas in any respect due to the fee.
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Meanwhile separate figures from the BRC and NielsenIQ printed right now present that meals worth inflation eased once more to 7.8% in November, down from 8.8% in October.
The total charge of store worth inflation additionally fell to 4.3% in the 12 months to November, down from 5.2% in October.
However it comes after the BRC final week expressed fears in regards to the new yr because it warned that the authorities’s autumn assertion was a “sell out” that had let companies down.
Bank of England governor: ‘Inflation remains to be too excessive’
The retail trade physique’s chief government Helen Dickinson reiterated these issues on Tuesday as she insisted retailers have been “committed to delivering an affordable Christmas for their customers”.
But she added: “They face new headwinds in 2024 – from government-imposed will increase in enterprise charges payments, to the hidden prices of complying with new laws.
“Combining these with the greatest rise to the National Living Wage on file will possible stall and even reverse progress made so far on bringing down inflation, notably in meals.”
