Christmas spending will leave 38% in the red

CHRISTMAS costs will leave almost four in 10 people in the red this year and it will be seven months before some of them manage to clear the debt.

Despite the economic woes, the average adult expects to spend €562 on festive gifts and goodies, but many will not be able to meet the financial pressure without loans or credit cards.

That’s despite the belief of the majority of the population that we all spend too much at this time of year and are charged prices too high to make our purchases value for money.