Christmas spending, energy, property and RBS

With the national and international news dominated by the resignation of the Italian Prime Minister, personal finance has an obsession of its own: Christmas.

Only a few days into December and the festive news is coming thick and fast. Today the BBC reports that ‘debt concerns at Christmas can be alleviated by seeking advice well before the bills come in’. It cites the Money Advice Trust, which runs the National Debtline service. According to the charity, less than a third of people have a Christmas budget. It added that a third would borrow to meet the cost of Christmas.

Meanwhile, new research from user experience agency Sigma has uncovered the tricks that retailers including Amazon, Just Fab, and River Island are using on their mobile sites to pressure shoppers into spending in the run-up to Christmas. Amazon was found to be pushing shoppers to sign up to its Amazon Prime service without stipulating clearly that the free trail would roll into a monthly payment of £7.99.