This survey, conducted by the charity, has shown that the poorest families will spend around one-third of the amount that the average family will during the festive season.

The average family in the UK will spend between £530 and £690 on items related to Christmas including; gifts, decorations, food and drinks. However, when questioned, the majority of families with a smaller income said that they would be spending around £182.

This breaks down as approximately: £34 on food and drink, £28 on decorations, £6 on cards and £114 on gifts, for a basic Christmas.

Many of the parents asked felt that there was an increased level of pressure on them to provide gifts for their children that, normally, would be more expensive than they can afford.

The main reasons for this appear to stem from the retailers and media providing a constant bombardment or the latest “must have” items. This constant advertisement makes it easier for children to see something that looks great on the flashy adverts, and therefore allows them to keep reminding their parents about said item.

And it doesn’t get better as they grow older, with another major concern for parents being the expectations of their teenagers expecting electronic goods such as MP3 players, the latest mobile phone or tablet PCs.

Despite these pressures, many parents are still planning to spend less than £200 in total this year, with gifts being more practical purchases than gimmicky toys, such as clothes.

What can be drawn from this report is that it highlights the balancing act that a low income parent must maintain: on one side not wanting to ruin the magic of Christmas for your child, whilst having to maintain a sense of reality about the costs.

Some parents may feel the need to take out a personal loan over the festive period in order to tip the balance in favor of their child’s excitement. While this can be a good method in the short-term, it does mean that they will still be paying for Christmas long after the turkey has gone and the presents it paid for have been discarded by their owners.

An alternative to this is a 0% purchases credit card. With this, the holder will not pay interest on any purchases that they have made for up to 15 months, allowing them time to save up again without having to struggle to make payments each month.

Or how about trying to snap up a saving with hundreds of online discounts and vouchers to use in the top stores?

But what does bring happiness, and can it survive in this global financial downturn that shows little sign of abating?

The UK government’s plans to monitor the wellbeing of its citizens through a ‘happiness survey’ have humoured and horrified its populace in equal measure.

But the choices and priorities that people are having to make in different economic environments are decidedly revealing in how we view British levels of consumer confidence and attitudes towards life. One example that stands out vividly this week is the approach to marriage.

“I Do”

In Australia, home of our sister site, Which4U.com.au, marriage remains a booming industry.

A recent report by IBISWorld in Australia has shown that couples spend an average of $36,000 (£23,000) on their wedding day, and that the industry is worth $4.3 billion (£2.75 billion).

This represents an increase of 6.5% on last year, in spite of a poor year for retail and unemployment with worse still to come.

Weddings have even been described as recession-proof. Couples are securing themselves financially, and maintaining that the once-in-a-lifetime event remains a priority and a special investment.

A Census Bureau report released in the US earlier this year revealed that Americans remain keen to marry, and that marriages are successful. 75% of marriages beyond 1990 have reached their 10-year anniversary.

“I Don’t”

This is markedly different from the UK, where the wedding industry has undergone a dramatic decline. Figures from the Office of National Statistics show that weddings have reached their lowest levels since the nineteenth century.

Furthermore, a consumer survey this week (Opinium) revealed that, of those who felt that they had to prioritise, only 22% would give marriage any priority over buying a home or starting a family.

21% of couples reported that finance was causing them to delay their decision to marry, while 8% said that the financial climate was likely to deter them permanently.

The ONS report reveals that while co-habitation levels have increased, the number of ‘unions’, wedded or otherwise, are still generally low overall.

So, is it just a case of waiting longer, and building up more savings, or do Brits no longer find the same fulfilment in marriage? Is it the British financial climate that is causing the boycott, or a more fundamental ideological difference?

We Don’t Know?

Happiness is abstract, a phenomenon, a spectrum, with no single cause or determinant. Statistics will struggle to penetrate the heart of it, and it is also folly to compare the UK and Australian economies (or their people) on any one cultural difference.

But we are all human, and it is interesting to see how consumer confidence and the value we place on things tend to combine and reflect sociological differences in wellbeing.

If you’re thinking about marriage, could you benefit from a dedicated savings account to help make it happen? We only live once. Make the most of it.

Keith McDonald
Which4U Editor

The thing you need to ask yourself to start is ‘am I prepared to add an element of risk to my investment’. If the answer is yes, how far are you willing to go?

There are many levels of risks involved with different savings account types, from gambling the interest while keeping your savings pot in tact, to upping the potential returns along with the risk factor by investing in stocks and shares.

Fixed Rate Bonds offer higher interest rates than standard savings accounts in exchange for limiting access to your funds. The rate is usually fixed for a period of anything up to 5 years, allowing you to calculate the exact return on your investment.

The risk involved with bonds is that rates could increase during the life of the bond, but as the rate is fixed you will not be able to benefit from any rises. On the other hand rates could also fall, which would leave you on a higher rate that those offered on other similar accounts.

A step up from this is to invest your funds using a share dealing account. Many banks offer these accounts, which allow you to buy, sell and manage shares from a single account. This does of course come with a high amount of risk, but also ups the potential to make some attractive returns.

Whichever account you decide on, it is worth looking into using your annual Individual Savings Account (ISA) allowance. Any returns from an investment or indeed savings accounts must be declared as a form of income, so this means they are subjected to income tax. This can be up to 50% depending on your annual earnings, but there is a way of avoiding this tax.

ISAs allow you to save and invest up to £10,680 per year without declaring any returns from your pot, allowing you to build up a tax free haven. Half of this can be used for a cash ISA, while the rest can be invested; or up to the full amount into stocks & shares for those that prefer to invest.

ISAs can been incorporated into most account types, so whether you’re looking to open an instant access savings account, fixed rate bond or invest with stocks and shares, you can add the ISA wrapper and take 100% of the returns.

Fuel Prices

1. Keep your tyres fully pumped-up and cut your air-conditioning usage

It is estimated that half of all drivers in the UK are driving with under-inflated tyres. This increases the resistance and therefore raises the amount of fuel used. The RAC advises that your fuel bills will increase by up to 2% if your tyres are not fully inflated to the recommended pressure.

Ensure your tyres pressure is kept at the correct level by checking them once a week. You can find out the recommended pressure readings for your tyres by consulting your car manual.

According to the National Energy Foundation, using air conditioning will increase your fuel consumption by up to 25%, so only use it when absolutely necessary. An alternative method to stay cool is opening the air vents, or even simply opening the windows. However, if you’re travelling over 60mph an open window will increase drag which can end up costing more than having your air-con on.

2. Service your vehicle

If you fail to service your vehicle regularly you could be reducing fuel economy by over 10%. Some of the key areas that must be covered are changing the air filters, as according to the RAC, dirty filters can seriously increase fuel usage; and regular oil changes, as clean oil will reduce the wear caused from friction of all the moving engine components, thus improving fuel economy.

Both of the tasks mentioned above are inexpensive and can help to drive your fuel costs down.

3. Change your driving habits

Changing the way you drive can drastically reduce fuel consumption, and this isn’t just about refraining yourself from putting your foot down.

Try to keep you gears higher. This will allow the engine to not have to work as hard and thus reduce the amount of fuel required. When using this technique ensure you are in a safe environment to do so, as using higher gears gives you less control over the car.

The RAC claims that if you avoid braking sharply then accelerating, you could save you up to 30% on fuel costs. The National Energy Foundation recommends that those driving a petrol car should change up a gear at 2,500rpm and at 2,000rpm for diesel cars to get the best fuel-efficiency. When starting from a stopped position, accelerate slowly as this will keep your revs down.

If you drive at 85mph you will use approximately 25% more fuel than at 70mph, so keep to the speed limit, especially on long motorway journeys.

4. Lose unnecessary weight and reduce the drag

Remove things from your car that you don’t require for your journey, such as removable seats, roof racks, and boot luggage such as sports equipment. Reconsider installing accessories that will add significant weight to your car and wide tyres that will add rolling resistance. According to the website save-petrol.co.uk, on average, each additional 50kg in weight will increase your petrol consumption by 2%.

Novelty flags and fancy sun roofs will also effect the aerodynamic drag of your car, thus increasing how much fuel your car will guzzle. Another interesting fact is that the weight of the fuel you carry will also effect how much fuel is required to move your car, so never fill your tank up to the top.

Always shop around for your fuel to find the best prices, you will be amazed at the difference in prices between cities and suburbs. But don’t defeat the object of cutting your  costs by driving too far out of your way to find the best fuel prices, as this will cancel out your savings. Try to tie your trip to the petrol station in with a regular trip, such as your weekly supermarket shop.

5. Helping the environment will help your wallet

Try to get into the habit of using other means of transport when making small journeys as these can be the least fuel efficient of all, especially in towns where you are constantly stopping and starting. Cars also use more fuel when cold, so a car that would usually do 40 miles to the gallon when motorway driving, may fall as down below 15 miles per gallon on a short journey. If you could walk or even cycle these short journeys you will notice the difference.

If you have to use your car to commute to work, if possible it is definitely worth considering car sharing with a colleague, as this can cut your fuel bills in half. Alternatively, look into park-and-ride schemes. If you can’t do either of the above, plan your journey to make sure you are taking the most cost effective route, and keep an eye on traffic reports to avoid hold-ups.

Something also worth noting it that a small car will consume a litre of fuel every hour when stuck in a traffic jam, but larger cars guzzle double this amount

One moneysaving website – http://moneytips.org.uk/ said – when looking to buy a new car, look around for the greenest in your price range as this will not only give you major savings in fuel costs, but also give out lower CO2 emissions which directly effects how much your car will cost to tax.

6. Clubcard points on your fuel

Supermarkets tend to offer the most competitive fuel prices, and they are very conveniently placed allowing you to kill two birds with one stone by doing your grocery shopping and filling up in one journey.

As well as offering good rates, some supermarkets also offer clubcard points for every pound spend, on petrol as well as in store. This means that if you stick to the same filling station, you can accumulate points later used to purchase goods that you wouldn’t have otherwise had.

To increase your reward points you could take out a Tesco Clubcard credit card, offering 5 points for every £4 spent. At the end of each month you receive clubcard vouchers based on the amount of points you’ve earned, which can be spent in-store on your petrol or at Tesco Direct. You can even turn Points into Airmiles!

The Tesco Credit Card also comes with a range of other attractive features and discounts, so it might be time to switch your card and make the most of your savings.