25% save all year to fund Christmas outlay

More than a quarter of consumers have been saving all year to fund their Christmas expenses, figures from KBC Bank Ireland show.

The bank’s latest savings barometer also shows that reliance on credit cards for funding Christmas is deteriorating, with nearly 60% of adults set to use their salary or current account for festive spending, and just 7% set to put it on their cards. That latter percentage is down from 10% last year.

Roughly 50% of consumers are saving a set amount on a regular basis, while 60% have either maintained or increased their savings levels over the past six months.