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There are many ways at this stage to help with the post-season finances. Photo: Alamy.<\/p>\nAlthough Christmas is an exciting and fun time for many, as a way of giving their loved ones presents, hosting dinners and taking time to relax, after the holiday season is over, some people are finding it hard to recover financially.<\/p>\n
New research from Creditspring has shown that four in 10 UK parents don\u2019t financially recover from Christmas until spring, with some still repaying festive costs as late as autumn.<\/p>\n
They also feel a pressure to deliver a \u2018perfect\u2019 Christmas, which is driving overspending, and 41 per cent of parents admit they spend more than they can afford.<\/p>\n
PA spoke with the chief risk officer at Creditspring, Tamsin Powell, to shed light and advice on the situation.<\/p>\n
Why are post-Christmas finances so difficult?<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople unfortunately, overspend at Christmas. It\u2019s very easy to do,\u201d Powell explains. \u201cThere\u2019s a perception that there\u2019s this perfect Christmas which is inspired by a lot of the movies and things on TV.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlso, in January you\u2019ve got that gap of pay and the pay cycle,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n
There are many ways at this stage to help with the post-season finances. Photo: Alamy.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s often a very long month, especially if businesses pay their staff early in December to help out, but then it leaves a longer time post-Christmas, so a lot of people are trying to catch up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Powell adds: \u201cA lot of people are also buying gifts on buy now pay later schemes with their first payment starting in January. I think it\u2019s a real crunch time as they realise what they\u2019ve spent and the costs start mounting up.\u201d<\/p>\n
How can people prevent overspending before the New Year<\/p>\n
Powell explains that at this stage, it is all about budgeting. \u201cThat\u2019s what we have been trying to get out there and say to people \u2013 try and be realistic with your budgets and be honest with yourself about what you spend and try and stick to it,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we\u2019re all guilty if we come to the wrapping stage and realise just how much we\u2019ve bought. We should keep lists as we go along but we don\u2019t.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the same with the food shop at Christmas. It\u2019s very easy to get carried away and the adverts all lead you to having the best.\u201d However, Powell says you can \u201cfind alternatives at a much more reasonable cost that are the same, if not better.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1766397067_419_how-to-manage-post-christmas-finances.jpg\")
There are alternatives to overspending (Alamy)<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s all about budgeting at the start and then finding different ways to gift, whether that\u2019s food gifts, using second-hand sites, charity shops or homemade gifts that often can be a lot more special,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnother way is Secret Santa instead of having to buy for everyone. Try and buy a really thoughtful gift for less people.\u201d<\/p>\n
How can you manage post-Christmas finances?<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce again, it\u2019s important to budget,\u201d Powell says. \u201cBe honest with yourself. Ask where do you go from here and how you can recover from the situation if you have overspent?<\/p>\n
“I think it\u2019s very easy after Christmas with all your New Year resolutions, to start spending, whether that\u2019s gym membership or fitness equipment and supplements. Try and think of different ways that you can get healthy for free, like walking, running, second-hand equipment, at least until you know if you like it and if you\u2019re going to be able to stick to it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you do want to do a gym membership, try not to sign yourself up for a year in case you don\u2019t stick to it,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlso, when you look at your budget in the new year, look at the things that perhaps you\u2019re spending money on now that you haven\u2019t used for a long time.<\/p>\n
\u201cThink of subscription services and things that you\u2019ve signed up to a while ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"People](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1766397068_413_how-to-manage-post-christmas-finances.jpg\")
There are cheap ways to still enjoy the New Year. Photo: Alamy.<\/p>\n
Powell also suggests the use of free budgeting tools. \u201cA lot of banks offer these as part of your bank account or various sites where you can download helpful budget planners,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlso look at the gifts you received and ask if you need them all. Is there anything that you can regift or perhaps sell on second-hand sites? It may seem mean but I think people would rather you do that if you are struggling and don\u2019t need all those gifts,\u201d Powell adds.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomething else that is rather important is about trying to put away a little buffer pot for unexpected costs that may come. Even if it doesn\u2019t seem much, if you can put away something for emergencies it means you can try and start good habits in the new year. You\u2019d be amazed at what a little buffer can do in an emergency situation.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Although Christmas is an exciting and fun time for many, as a way of giving their loved ones…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":196166,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[138,246,111,139,69,244,245],"class_list":{"0":"post-196165","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-personal-finance","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-finance","10":"tag-new-zealand","11":"tag-newzealand","12":"tag-nz","13":"tag-personal-finance","14":"tag-personalfinance"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196165","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=196165"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196165\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/196166"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=196165"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=196165"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=196165"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}