New research from debt management firm Lowell has revealed that on average, it takes families until mid-April (3.8 months) to clear their festive debt.
The survey found that 74% of UK families relied on credit cards and Buy-Now-Pay-Later schemes to help cover the cost of Christmas. While some families have the luxury of being able to save up for the Christmas period, others have to turn to credit, which they pay off over a longer period of time. This means those who put their 2025 Christmas shopping on credit may just only be clearing their debt, experiencing almost four months of interest payments just to pay off the festive period.
However, 15% of households are still repaying these debts and expect it to take six…