Money guide

Plan Christmas spending without debt

Set a realistic festive budget, spread the cost over the coming months and avoid borrowing you will still be paying off in the new year.

Estimated time: 30–45 minutesUpdated: 28 September 2026

Use this guide in the autumn, while there are still several paydays before Christmas. Have your monthly budget or recent bank statements and a list of people you usually buy for.

Step by step

  1. Work out what you can afford

    Look at your monthly budget and decide how much you can set aside from each payday between now and Christmas without missing essential bills. Multiply that by the number of paydays left. That figure is your total festive budget, not the amount you spent last year.

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