Third of Britons 'believe early December pay makes it harder to manage finances'

Early Christmas pay cheques are seen as a curse rather than a blessing by nearly one in three Britons - as many will end up blowing their festive windfall too early, research has found.

Some 31% of people surveyed for Comparethemarket.com said they believe that receiving a pay cheque in December earlier in the month than at other times of the year made it harder to manage their finances.

Around 80% of people said they repeatedly over-spend after receiving an early pay cheque, with the early cash injection making them feel temporarily richer than they really are.

The research for the website among 2,000 people also suggested that 28% of cash-strapped Britons said the pressure on their finances will be eased by their families hosting them for Christmas.

Three-quarters of people (76%) said they prefer to keep their financial problems to themselves at Christmas, rather than sharing them with family members.

Comparethemarket.com has a partnership with the University of Sheffield called the Institute of Inertia, which looks at consumers' financial habits and behaviour.

Dr Thomas Webb, a social psychologist and chair of the Institute of Inertia, said: "People are filled with a false sense of festive financial confidence and rarely spare a thought for how they are going to make their money last until the end of January.

"We call this 'the ostrich problem' because many people prefer not to think about issues like money over Christmas.

"However, to prevent a miserable start to the New Year, people need to be more realistic about how far their money will stretch at Christmas time, and with a little planning, avoiding getting into debt can be easier than you think."