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The Church of England is urging shoppers to ditch the credit cards in a three-part video series for Christmas this year aiming to get people to spend less and avoid debt for the New Year. The series is entitled Wishing You an Affordable Christmas and is presented in three three-minute segments by John Preston, the Church's National Stewardship Officer.
Among the advice they are giving is the proposal for shoppers to use cash rather than credit cards to better budget the amount of money they spend on presents and food.
Dr Preston said: "With Christmas just a few weeks away, the shops are full of present ideas and Christmas shoppers. Millions and millions of pounds will be spent in the run-up to Christmas on gifts and food."
The videos, which are available on the internet, are accompanied by a spreadsheet planner which will help consumers to plan ahead and avoid "panic shopping" before Christmas and therefore spending more than they intended.
However, Richard Dodd of the British Retail Consortium was critical of the Church's advice, saying that while shoppers should not spend on things that they cannot afford to pay back, credit is "an important device to spread the cost of a range of needs and wants, at anytime, including at Christmas."
The scheme is part of the Church of England's wider initiative to help people through the credit crunch called Matter of Life and Debt.
The Evangelical Alliance's Life Beyond Debt campaign, launched in February 2009, is an umbrella movement in response to the recession which aims to bring together different organisations, including the Church of England,to catalyse the church to help people who are in debt, have lost their jobs or are otherwise struggling with their finances. "Sadly, the warm glow of giving at Christmas is all too often replaced by the bitter aftertaste of debt in the New Year," said
Miles Giljam, Head of Communications and director of the Life Beyond Debt campaignat the Evangelical Alliance. "This excellent initiative by the Church of England highlights the problems church debt counselors help people to solve every day of the year."
The current Simplify Christmasinitiative, which is part of the campaign, aims to recapture the message of giving that is at the heart of Christmas and practice generosity as a radical response to the recession. Tips and resources for how to do this can be found on the Simplify Christmas website.
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