New Tool Calculates When You’ll Bounce Back from Christmas Spending

• Enter your festive spending and January earnings to pinpoint recovery date
• Brits spent an average of £649 extra this December on gifts, food, and travel
• Tool also provides budgeting tips to avoid financial struggles

A clever new tool has been launched to help you determine exactly when your finances will recover after the festive season. By inputting your December outlay and expected January income, it calculates the date when you'll be back on track, while offering money-saving tips to ease the strain.

The tool, developed by money app Plum, considers factors like overspending on gifts, food, and socialising during Christmas. Brits typically spend £649 more in December than any other month, with major costs including:

£321 on presents

£204 on food and drink

£120 on socialising

According to Plum’s research, 60% of people find January a financially tough month, as the early December paydays for Christmas shopping create a long wait for February’s paycheck.

Money-Saving Plans for January

To recover, people plan to:

Cut dining out and takeaway spending

Save on groceries

Be more disciplined with heating use

Rajan Lakhani, Head of Money at Plum, said: "Christmas is wonderful for giving but can stretch budgets to the limit. January offers the perfect opportunity to reflect and reset your financial goals."