Lancastrians a region of savers this Christmas

Lancastrians are tightening their belts this Christmas being the most likely region of the UK to pay for Christmas from savings and one of the least likely to use credit according to research from credit report provider MyCallcredit.

Its research reveals they're also unlikely to be big spenders with only 3.1 per cent saying they will fork out £1,000 or more compared to a national average of 5.4 per cent. The only area less likely to splash out this year is Yorkshire where just 0.9 per cent of residents intend spending more than £1,000.

Overall, one in two Lancastrians (56.7%) think Christmas will cost £500 or less, in line with the national average (57.3%) while 35.9 per cent will spend between £500 and £1,000, higher than the UK average of 29.4 per cent.

But Lancastrians are the most likely to pay for Christmas from savings (44.1% against a national average of 35.6%) and one of the least likely to put festive costs on plastic (5.9% against an average of 8%)

Of those people in Lancashire who do use credit 44.9 per cent said it would take them more than four months to pay off compared to a national average of 33 per cent.

Consumer affairs director Mel Mitchley says:

"Christmas is often a time when people can feel pressure to spend more than they can afford but our research shows people in Lancashire have, by and large, got their Christmas costs under control.

"The vast majority have saved and budgeted and won't overspend this Christmas but for those who do intend to put the cost on credit they should try and pay it off as quickly as possible and only use credit facilities they already have. That way they'll avoid a Christmas hangover that could run into summer next year."

Key Findings

• Southerners were more likely to use credit than any other region of the UK with 12.9 per cent saying some of their Christmas spending would be on credit.
• East Anglians were the least likely to pay for Christmas using credit 4.3 per cent against a national average of 8 per cent.
• Lancastrians who say they will use credit this Christmas were less likely than any other region to know how much of their costs would go on plastic with 12.4 per cent admitting they didn't know compared to 3.2 per cent nationally.
• People in Lancashire were most likely to pay for Christmas from savings (44.1%) while people in the South were least likely to use savings to cover festive costs (23.5%). Nationally 35.6 per cent of people said savings would pay for Christmas.

Editors Notes

1. 1.The research was carried out by NEMS market research among 1000 adults for MyCallcredit between 28 October and 2 November 2005.