Only 61% of people expect to clear their Christmas expenditure by the end of January
With the festive season over, research from Sainsbury’s Finance(1) shows that only 61% of people expect to clear their Christmas expenditure within one month. Some 483,000 expect it to take more than a year to do so - 71% of these people are women. | Estimated time to clear Christmas expenditure | Percentage of people | Number of people | | | | | | One month | 61% | 25.63 million
| 2-3 months
| 15% | 6.32 million
| | 4-6 months | 7% | 2.86 million
| | 7-12 months | 3% | 1.11 million | | Over a year | 1% | 438,000 | | Don't know | 12% | 4.84 million |
Donald MacLeod, Head of Cards, Sainsbury’s said: “We estimate that around 18% of Christmas spending was placed on credit cards. Our research indicates that around 8.6 million people intended to put half or more of their festive spending on cards(1). "Those Yule-time shoppers who anticipate being unable to clear their credit card bills by the end of this month should consider spreading the cost and transferring their balance to a new card that offers 0% APR on balance transfers so as to avoid incurring any unnecessary interest.” As well as offering 0% interest on introductory purchases and balance transfers, Sainsbury’s credit card rewards customers every time they shop(2), giving Nectar points equivalent to 2% cashback on Sainsbury’s purchases. Sainsbury’s cardholders can also manage their accounts online with their convenient 24/7 online payment service. Sainsbury's Bank Press Release | 
