Consumers prefer cash to plastic in run up to Christmas

Posted in 'Credit Crunch' by Barry Stamp

07 December 2011

LINK, the company that operates one of the UK’s cash machine networks, has said that cash withdrawals in the week ended 4 December were up by 11% compared to the same week last year, and 25 November and 1 December were singled out as being particularly busy, where the increase was a massive 25%.

Certainly it is possible that the continuing economic downturn, and the uncertainties surrounding the Euro zone, have dented consumer confidence to the extent that there is a conscious reluctance to run up credit for Christmas spending, and instead to pay for items by cash, which tends to make consumers realise the true cost of each present.

Another reason might be that the weather was atrocious at this time last year, and many would have stayed at home and shopped online rather than venturing out in snow covered shopping centres. This year, in comparison, and with the exception of the far North, the end of November was relatively balmy and even pavement cafes in London are still in regular use.

If you are starting to get concerned about your levels of credit, now is the time to think about switching any stubborn debt to a 0% balance transfer deal. Instead of paying interest at high rates, you could be repaying the debt with just by keeping the same level of repayments.

One of the best deals available at the moment is the Halifax All in One card that offers 0% on both purchases and balance transfers for 15 months. If your credit standing is a bit shaky, that may be reduced to either 13 or 11 months, but even so, that’s long enough to make a very big dent on your debt.