More than half of adults who expect to run out of money in January will have used up all their monthly income by this week, a survey indicates. A third (32%) of UK adults expect to run short of cash before the end of January, according to financial insights provider Intuit Credit Karma.
Among this group, 53% anticipate they will have spent up by January 15. With the strain of Christmas shopping and winter bills to pay for, some may be pushed into debt. With December wages often being paid early, January can be a month when people need to stretch their pay out for longer.
A similar study last year put January 20 2024 as the tipping point when people would start relying funds other than their income to make it until the next payday. A quarter (23%) of people in the latest survey said that they had spent more during the most recent festive season than in previous years.
Intuit Credit Karma said its own analysis indicates that the most popular date to apply for credit products last year was January 4. Three in 10 (29%) people said they will avoid socialising in January, to help their finances, rising to 38% of 35 to 54-year-olds.
Some people surveyed said they were also still paying off costs from previous Christmas periods in addition to their spending in 2024. Akansha Nath, general manager (international) at Intuit Credit Karma said: “Many people enter January with stretched budgets, making it a good time to consider a budget planning tool, consolidate debt, or take advantage of interest-free balance transfer offers.”
Opinium Research surveyed 2,000 people across the UK in November and December.
Here are some tips from Ms Nath for managing costs in January:
Take stock of finances and bills
Consider January deals to reduce bills for mobile, broadband and digital TV.
Ms Nath suggests reviewing any subscriptions that are no longer needed and checking if you can access a better mortgage rate.
Reduce the cost of debts
Ms Nath suggests checking the market for new deals on 0% balance transfer credit cards or low APR (annual percentage rate) loans that could help reduce the interest rate on existing debts.
Some people may find that consolidating credit into a single card or loan could help them manage monthly payments and plan their cash flow.
Ms Nath suggests shopping around to find the best rates, checking eligibility before applying, and only borrowing what you can reasonably afford to pay back.
Set up savings pots for upcoming costs
To help plan for upcoming big expenses, as well as having an emergency fund, setting aside pots of money can be useful.
People could consider saving a bit of money each month into the funds so they are not hit by expenses all in one go.
Ms Nath also suggests looking for good interest rates on savings pots.