With Christmas now over and the New Year upon us, many people will be gearing up for the year ahead. However, many will be kicking off the New Year with a huge amount of new debt, having overspent during the festive season and borrowed via various platforms such as credit cards, overdrafts and loans. With the sales having started directly after Christmas many people have also been spending since Christmas Day, with a record £4.3 billion said to have been spent in the space of two days in the sales.

Officials are now concerned that British shoppers are set for a New Year debt crisis, and the sales shopping expenditure coupled with the pre-Christmas shopping spend will inevitably tip some consumers over the financial edge. With these figures causing great concern, debt advice agencies and charities in the UK are now preparing themselves for an influx of queries from those that suddenly find themselves unable to cope with their debts and finances.

Many Brits are said to have got carried away with the variety of bargains in the sale, which will lead to many spending far more than they can afford to, often on their credit cards or through some other form of finance. Despite the difficult financial climate, experts believe that the spend in the two days following Christmas will be the highest even on record in the UK.

One retail expert said: ‘I don’t think we’re stretching it to say the 26th and 27th of December combined have been the best ever, certainly if we include online sales. I’d have thought it could be a record two-day takings. People have definitely been waiting for the sales. Many decided to play a waiting game with retailers in anticipation of deep sales cuts. Because of the way Christmas has fallen and the fact that many people have taken the whole week off that has prompted a huge boost in spending.’

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