Xmas joy ‘leads to new year debt'
CAPE TOWN - Consumers appear to be spending beyond their means over the festive season, and will feel the pain in January, debt counsellor Debtbusters said on Tuesday.
It said it had seen a decrease in applications for debt counselling in recent weeks, but a spate of enquiries submitted to the company website.
Debtbusters MD Luke Hirst said this meant people were very concerned about their finances, but they refused to forego their Christmas spending.
“I have no doubt we will see a large portion of these people coming back to us in January in even more trouble,” he said in a statement.
Christmas was “no time to abandon your budget”.
“Thinking that one last spree for the year is OK is a huge mistake,” he said.
“Incurring debt to indulge in festivities and Christmas presents can only lead to getting onto an unfortunate debt spiral.”
-Sapa