Bills Starting To Mount Up

After all the Christmas spending, bills are now starting to build up. Families are especially at risk as it has been found that £1.8bn has been spent on toys this year alone, even though children have over £7.4bn worth of toys already in their bedrooms.

Due to peer pressure parents feel obliged to overspend at Christmas using their credit cards and taking out personal loans. The sting in the tail comes when these loans have to be serviced. Four out of five parents polled say Christmas is about lavishing their children with expensive gifts.

Jennie Bibbings, senior policy officer at the Welsh Consumer Council said, "Spending is up year on year and it's a particular problem for parents because they are subjected to a lot of marketing, not just advertising as we understand it, but also peer pressure from children.
"Marketeers are very clever at getting among children. Quite a lot in our research parents have said, 'When I was younger I never had any of these things and I am aware that my children are going to get picked on and bullied at school if they don't have the right gear'.