Happy New Year?
In our digital world, many of us use Direct Debits for regular payments. Once you’ve set one up, it gives permission for a business to collect scheduled payments from your account.
Amanda Ryan, bpha’s Money Advice Manager
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Talk to us if you’re worried about Christmas debt
Direct Debits are great for regular bills such as utilities, council tax, TV services and rent. However, if there isn’t enough money in your bank account to cover the Direct Debit, it will either send you into overdraft or fail.
I’ve noticed that the peak months for rental Direct Debits to fail are December and January. Customers this has happened to have told me that the pressure of buying for Christmas led them not having enough to cover their Direct Debit payment – some accidently, while others knew the payment would fail.
Those expectations around food, presents and going out are really tough to deal with.
The problem is that income is unlikely to change very much in the months after Christmas, so it can be very hard to make up missed payments, and take a long time to get back on track. You might also find yourself dealing with the stress of an organisation taking action to get the money you owe.
My advice is:
Don’t be tempted to let a Direct Debit payment fail
It’s worth setting an overall budget and keeping track so you stay in control and don’t land yourself with a large amount of debt to pay back. If you’re worried about this, Money Helper has some useful advice, including how to have difficult conversations with family and friends about spending less at this time of year.
Don’t panic if you’ve already overspent
Check now how much you owe and when you need to make repayments, so you can be ready. You can contact my team and we can look at your options together.
Start saving for Christmas 2026
One option you may wish to consider is saving with Bedford Credit Union. As a bpha customer, we will pay the membership fee so that you can open a savings account. And that is all customers, it doesn’t matter if you don’t live in Bedford.
Bedford Credit Union offers two different savings accounts for adults. One is instant access, the other is called a ‘lock it away’ account, which is ideal for saving for something specific in the future. To open an account, you’ll need a minimum deposit of just £5.