WITH just four more days to go until Santa is here, I’m happy to say there is a little festive cheer in the world of money as well.
The fact is that, according to new research just released by the insurer Aviva, we appear to have more spare cash to spend this year, making this Christmas hopefully more festive than the last.
The main reason is that we are benefiting from low inflation (as measured by the Retail Price Index, inflation was 0.8 per cent in September, down from an already low 1.1 per cent in August).
Falling food prices, which were down 2.5 per cent in the past year due to the supermarket price wars, plus falling fuel and petrol prices due to lower prices for oil, and falling electric prices, have all been passed on to consumers already.
If you have gas in your home, there has been some fall in prices, and you can expect further cuts in the price of gas in the New Year. As a result, we’ll have a better time of it this Christmas than we did last year.
Let’s “talk turkey” and look at the detail, to see what this has meant for those of us over 55.
Well, in the third quarter of 2015 (July-September) we have more money in our pockets, we are spending more on food and on treating ourselves to luxuries, and we are even able to save more than we did in recent years.
The typical monthly income for over-55s was up 5 per cent over the past year, and by a whopping 26 per cent since autumn 2011. The UK average is now £1,378, compared with £1,317 a year ago, and it’s up by a quarter compared to 2011, when the typical income was £1,091.
Compared to this time last year, over-55s are spending 47 per cent more a month on entertainment and holidays, and 42 per cent more on eating out or takeaways. We’re also spending more on clothing and footwear, the cost of which did increase slightly in the past year, but was up much less than expected.
However, our spending on motoring fell by 1 per cent, on debt repayments by 3 per cent, and on cigarettes and tobacco by 13 per cent over this period.
Over-55s are spending more on most types of expense compared to a year ago, with the only exception being fuel and light, where we spent £4 a month less this autumn.
As mentioned above, many of us may have a few more pounds in the bank this year as well.
The typical amount saved per month by over-55s was £206 in July to September of this year, which is £10 a month more than last year. It also represents an increase of over two-thirds since 2011.
Now, here are a few separate nuggets of info that may be useful this Christmas time.
With these extra few pounds in disposable income, we may be spending more than usual on our children and grandchildren in the run-up to Christmas.
However, if you are presenting anyone with an electronic gift this year, you may have to give them a warning about it as well.
Some information based on insurance claims for items stolen over last Christmas and New Year indicates which items are most likely to attract thieves this time round.
While 10 years ago Sony’s PS2 games console was the Christmas gift most stolen by thieves, last Christmas showed that thieves now prefer gifts they can more easily carry off. As a result, the most popular electronic items attracting their attentions are getting smaller.
Last year’s most stolen item was the Apple iPhone 5, according to Aviva, which makes it very likely that this year’s will be the recently launched iPhone 6.
Other more portable gifts high on the shopping list for thieves last year were the Apple Macbook Pro and the HP Kerrope laptop, which came in second and third position as most stolen items.
It will, therefore, come as no surprise to hear that the iPad and the extra-light iPad Air tablets were also up there among those high-value gifts that are now most attractive to thieves.
The peak time for thieves to strike, again going by data for theft-related claims, is on New Year’s Eve, when they take advantage of empty houses and party noise, as people celebrate late into the night.
The insurer’s advice is that, if you or your family are going out to visit or to welcome the New Year in other houses, make sure that you leave your own lights on, and lock all windows and doors, including those on your garage and sheds.
Otherwise, Santa’s work may have been in vain, and those special Christmas presents given to your children and grandchildren may end up as a gift for someone else!
:: Michael Kennedy is an independent financial adviser and pensions specialist, and can be contacted on 028 71886005
