Some 4.2 million Britons are still paying credit card bills from Christmas last year, new research shows.
And the average UK resident did not clear their festive credit card debt until late March 2006, figures from Moneyexpert.com reveal.
"Christmas is a time for giving and it looks [like] we are definitely giving our credit cards a battering over the festive season," said Moneyexpert chief executive Sean Gardner.
"It is tempting to put spending on your plastic when it comes to Christmas and the bills are mounting up. Of course everybody intends to clear the debt as soon as possible but it is evident that millions of us don’t.
"With more than four million of us still paying for last Christmas it is clear that there is a need for many of us to change our financial habits.
"Getting into debt is fine as long as you have the means to get out of it."
Moneyexpert figures show almost one credit card holder in eight still has debts on their cards from last Christmas, and with around £11.4 billion set to be spent on plastic this holiday season there could be large problems stored up for later on.
A £1,000 balance at Christmas 2005 will have had around £169 in interest charged on it over the last year at 16.9 per cent.
However, this balance could have been transferred to a 12-month interest-free credit card deal with a provider such as Barclaycard, Virgin Money or Citibank.
While transferring a balance generally incurs an initial fee - for those that know they will not be clearing their debt anytime soon, it can see the total cost of carrying a balance on a credit card fall from £169 to £20.
This is a saving of £149 - more than enough to buy a few extra presents.
http://www.myfinances.co.uk/credit-card ... 460031.htm
