Find out how much we actually spend during the Christmas season, and which city wants to cut down. Also discover what this years Turner Prize winner, did with their prize money! 

Jingle tills

According to research from Bright House, an individual in Britain spends on average £1000 extra in the Christmas season.  Unsurprisingly, this additional cost comprises gifts, food, booze and parties, but many may not have realised to what extent this spending stacks up into a small fortune each year.

However the research also suggests that Londoners want to rein in their spending and put more effort into financial planning.  The average target budget for Christmas is considerably lower at £604, so if people manage to stick to this then the typical festive spend should fall significantly – though perhaps the money is just being held back for the January sales?

Investing’s an art

If you won a big chunk of money, your first thought might well be a new car or the holiday of a lifetime. Not Duncan Campbell, winner of this year’s Turner Prize. The artist ruined our illusions of wild-living, anarchic artists, by revealing that his £25,000 prize money was earmarked for everyday expenses such as studio rent.

Perhaps it doesn’t sound so exciting, but an artist like Campbell must also be an entrepreneur and businessman – he knows he needs money or he can’t produce the art. So spending his prize on rent rather than wild living is really the best way he can invest in his own art. It’s a reminder to us all: investments are about enabling ourselves to do the things we want to do. They don’t have to be grand and lavish – they just need to have a plan behind them.

Discover more about investment planning here.