Listen: has Christmas started early this year?

Christmas is a time of giving… which is a polite way of saying it’s often fairly financially ruinous. It might seem like that won’t be the case this year. After all, perhaps you won’t be travelling around the country (meaning lower petrol and transport costs), the big Christmas meal may be a bit more subdued, and you won’t have to bother with multiple office secret Santa gifts. But having a very Covid Christmas poses its own money-related risk that you need to stay aware of: guilt buying.

Guilt buying is the act of spending too much money on people’s gifts out of obligation, whether that’s due to the pressure to one-up last year’s gifts, to appear more generous than someone else, or because you feel bad for someone.

According to research published by Vistaprint, 2020 is the year for thoughtful and meaningful gifts.

Aston spoke to behavioural psychologist Dr Kate Mason to discuss the research in further detail.

Photo by Jess Bailey on Unsplash