Don’t Get Into Debt This Winter. Christmas shouldn’t cost you January.

2 hours ago

5 min read

As we find ourselves heading into those winter months, the pressure to financially sustain the rise in our bills, the festivities, the gifts and everything else that comes with Christmas can all become a little too much. And the reality is, for millions of people, finances are already stretched before they’ve bought a single present.

In August 2026, StepChange found that 42% of British adults worry about money often or all of the time.

Around 22 million people expect their finances to get worse over the next year. Of those, 60% blame the general cost of living, while 55% cite rising winter energy bills.

Citizens Advice has also reported that more than 10 million households are worried about how they will afford their energy bills this winter, with an estimated 3.5 million households already in energy debt.

And that’s before Christmas even begins…

In 2025, 27% of British adults said they would struggle to afford Christmas and around 4 million adults expected to rely on credit to fund it, with most needing to borrow more than they did the previous year.

But would it shock you if the most concerning of statistics is what happens afterwards?

43% of those needing to borrow for Christmas expect it to take more than 6 months to repay the debt, and some expect it to take over a year. If we talk about parents, 49% typically spend more than £100 per child and 20% spend more than £200 per child.

Let’s talk about the emotional side of these numbers, as research by Family Action found that 49% of parents and carers feel as though they’ve failed their children if they can’t afford the presents their children ask for.

Almost 1 in 3 have made up an excuse for why a present hadn’t arrived rather than admitting they couldn’t afford it.

And 1 in 6 parents said they couldn’t afford a present for their own child at all.

Across Christmas spending, the expected median festive spend has been estimated at around £550.

For many households, everyday bills, food shopping, winter costs, socialising, pressure for gifts and credit cards are already overwhelmingly stretched.

The cost isn’t always just financial.

There is another side to financial pressure that we don’t talk about enough… the effect it can have on our mental health. Money worries don’t disappear when you close your banking app. They can follow you to work, keep you awake at night, cause tension within relationships and leave you feeling anxious about the next bill, the next direct debit or simply opening another letter.

And we’re heading into the darker winter months, when some people can already find their mental health, mood and anxiety more difficult to manage.

Add financial worry, the pressure to create the “perfect Christmas”, social expectations and the fear of disappointing the people you love, and what should be an enjoyable time of year can very quickly become overwhelming.

Taking on debt might solve the immediate problem of “how am I going to pay for Christmas?” but it can replace it with another question in January, “how am I going to pay this back?”

Protecting your financial wellbeing is part of protecting your overall wellbeing too.

Of those who borrowed for last winter, 73% borrowed for presents. 39% borrowed for food and drink. 21% borrowed to cover their normal everyday bills. 16% borrowed for social events and celebrations. 14% borrowed for travel.

More than 1 in 10 Christmas borrowers took on £1,000 or more of debt.

All while behind the scenes already StepChange estimates more than 7 million people already use credit for everyday essentials at least occasionally, while more than 13 million people would need to borrow to cover an emergency expense.

So this is all to say, it’s not just people recklessly spending money that they don’t have, we’re looking at households who are already stretched for everyday living, adding the financial and emotional pressure for Christmas on top.

January is consistently an incredibly busy period for debt support.

Almost 100,000 people visited StepChange’s website during the first part of January 2026, with around 800 people going through debt advice on one day alone.

Citizens Advice also reported that 13,300 people sought its help with debt during just the first working week of January 2026. That’s around 2,670 people every working day.

And incredibly, almost 4,000 people visited the StepChange website on Christmas Day itself.

Behind every one of those statistics is a person worrying about money.

So, where can I help?

As a Mortgage & Protection Adviser, a huge part of my job involves talking to people about their finances. And sometimes, that conversation isn’t simply about finding a new mortgage. We look at your income, your monthly commitments and expenditure, your mortgage and other borrowing, and ultimately what is affordable for you.

If you’re a homeowner and you’re struggling financially, there may be options available depending on your individual circumstances. That could mean reviewing your existing mortgage, looking at whether there are more suitable options available when your current deal ends, or simply understanding your position before things become more difficult.

If you’re considering consolidating debts through your mortgage, that’s also something we can discuss. Debt consolidation isn’t suitable for everybody, and moving unsecured borrowing onto your mortgage can mean securing that debt against your home and potentially repaying it over a much longer period. But where appropriate, I can explain the options, costs and implications so that you can make an informed decision.

Protection is another part of that conversation. Financial difficulty isn’t always caused by overspending. Sometimes life simply happens. Illness, an accident, losing an income or being unable to work can change a household’s finances incredibly quickly. Reviewing your protection arrangements — such as income protection, critical illness cover or life insurance — can help you understand what financial support you would have in place if something unexpected happened.

And sometimes the right support won’t come from me at all.

If you’re already struggling with problem debt, organisations such as StepChange and Citizens Advice offer free, specialist debt support. I’d much rather point somebody towards the right help than see them continue struggling alone.

Let’s get ahead of the curve this year.

Christmas does not have to mean spending hundreds of pounds, and you don’t need to financially stretch yourself to buy a gift, and you don’t need to say yes to every Christmas event.

And most importantly, you certainly don’t need to spend the first six months of next year paying for one day in December.

Take some time before Christmas to look at your income, essential outgoings, existing commitments and what you can comfortably afford, not what you feel you’re expected to spend.

There should be no shame in saying “I can’t afford that this year.”

If you’re worried about your mortgage, existing borrowing or whether your household would cope financially if something unexpected happened, have the conversation now rather than waiting until you’re already struggling.

Don’t start your new year on the back foot. Christmas shouldn’t cost you January.

Think carefully before securing other debts against your home. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.

You can reach Ashleigh Sinclair on: asinclair@fowlersmith.co.uk