If you lack any basic form of self control, you can very easily overspend at Christmas!

It's easy to spend more than you mean to at Christmas isn't it?

The general rule of thumb is to leave it all far too late, you find out that your supermarket is a shopping battlefield, you are dashing around with the trolley and you pick anything off the shelves without even looking.

Sound familiar?

However, if you feel brave enough to shop around, you can find a traditional family Christmas dinner for just £12.35!

Amazing or what?!

But those splendid money saving folk over at Fool.co.uk have done some leg work and have come up with these money saving treats:

TURKEY:

Most supermarkets will have fresh turkeys in stock from December 20th (prices not available until then).

However, here are two good-value frozen equivalents:

• Lidl self-basting turkey 4-4.2kg - £5.69

• Aldi frozen turkey 4-4.8kg - £5.99

• Sainsbury's Basics sage and onion stuffing mix 85g - £0.12

• Tesco sage and onion stuffing mix 85g - £0.19.

• Asda Smartprice sage and onion stuffing mix 85g - £0.12.

• Sainsbury's gravy granules 170g - £0.49

• Asda Smartprice meat gravy granules 170g - £0.44.

• Sainsbury's button sprouts 1kg (frozen) - £0.75

• Lidl fresh sprouts 1kg (half original price) - now £0.49

• Asda button sprouts 1kg (frozen) - £0.62

• Sainsbury's parsnips 500g (save 33%) - now £0.72

• Tesco Value parsnips 1kg - £1.38

• Sainsbury's Basics carrots 2kg - £0.99

• Tesco carrots 2kg - £1

• Asda Smartprice carrots 1.5kg - £0.55

• Sainsbury's Basics potatoes 5kg - £1.49

• Asda Smartprice potatoes 2.5kg - £0.73

• Lidl fresh new potatoes 1.5kg - £0.39

• Asda Smartprice 200g - 0.34

• Sainsbury's Basics Christmas pudding 454g - 0.98p

• Tesco Value Christmas pudding with cider 454g - £0.98

• Asda Smartprice Christmas pudding 454g - £0.98

• Tesco Value 6 mince pies - £0.49

• Asda Smartprice iced fruit cake - £1.48

• Sainsbury's Basics Christmas pudding 454g - 0.98p

• Tesco Value Christmas pudding with cider 454g - £0.98

• Asda Smartprice Christmas pudding 454g - £0.98

That is a quality price in anyone's pocket!

To finish, here are some of the best deals on other Christmas odds-and-ends - just in case you've left it all to the last minute...

CRACKERS:

• Sainsbury's 10 mini crackers for £2, or 12 foil crackers for £2.50

• Bhs 12 family crackers (were £12) now £6

• Sainsbury's Basics roasting tin - £0.99

• Asda Smartprice roaster 32cm - £0.83

• Homebase 20 coloured lights (were 0.99) now 0.19

• Homebase 50 clear Christmas lights, were 2.99, now 0.99

So, why not save yourself some hard earned cash just by shopping around?!

Santa is taking a third of your Christmas pay

Buy to let is a touchy subject for a few of you!

People who buy to let are either providing a valuable service to those that have to rent due to being unable to buy their own home, or people who are just greedy and their numerous properties stop many first time buyers from getting on the property ladder.

Whatever you thoughts about buy to let, it is clear that there is a sharp slowdown in the sector, as oversupply is denting demand and landlords quit the market.

A glut of properties and concerns over the global credit crunch has led to the decline in buy-to-let activity, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) says. They also say that the percentage of landlords selling their properties is at a three-year high.

It said new landlord instructions, an important indicator of the strength of the buy-to-let market, to a balance of plus 11%, down from 19% in the previous quarter. Some analysts fear a slowdown in the buy-to-let sector could exacerbate existing problems in the wider property market.

The buy-to-let market has grown sharply in recent years; in 1996, when buy-to-let mortgages were first launched, only 20,000 were taken out. According to the Council for Mortgage Lenders (CML), by September 2007 this figure had grown to 990,000 and the total amount borrowed to £116billion.

Clearly they have proved very popular with many people seeking to invest in property and make a tidy profit. But the recent problems in the wholesale financial markets have prompted a tougher approach from lenders.

As many of you are all too acutely aware of, the ongoing credit crunch has seen many lenders tighten their lending criteria and some have withdrawn buy-to-let products altogether. RICS said this might have caused new investors to avoid entering the buy-to-let market.

RICS housing spokesperson Jeremy Leaf commented on the current buy to let problems:

"A combination of tightening lending criteria and successive interest rate rises has started to hit the buy-to-let market. With the drop in capital gains tax due in April next year, many landlords will resist selling until the spring". "With rents still on the increase, many would-be-buyers will find accessing the housing market even more difficult as they struggle to raise the capital for that first important purchase. However, many landlords will still take solace from uncertainty in the economy and enjoy the gains from rising rents,".

In November, RICS said property investors were being asked to produce a 30% deposit, costing an average of £65,600. In 2002, an 8% deposit was common, at an average of £10,100.

Many lenders now also require that the rent on any prospective buy-to-let property equates to more than 125% of the monthly mortgage payment, which can be hard to achieve in some areas.

RICS concluded that buy-to-let had become a "rich man's game", with all but the wealthiest priced out of the market.

So, has buy to let become an exclusive club for all but the wealthiest to play the property game in?

While the housing market problems may cause hassle for people with buy to let, is it a good thing?

After all, while they may not make as much money as they wish, does it also leave less landlords for those who have to rent?

Why not let us know what you think in the comments?

House prices falling at fastest rate in 2 years

Tis the season to overspend...

We have heard a lot about credit card spending in the last few months and there is no doubt that our flexible friends will be working hard this Christmas!

But what about our long lost friend; cold hard cash?

Over £3.2 billion pounds of cash has been withdrawn from more than 64,000 LINK cash machines so far this December; an increase of £140 million on last year.

Since last Friday, cash withdrawals have been especially, suggesting that last week's quarter-point cut in interest rates boosted consumer confidence and encouraged mortgage holders to spend more freely (although we're not entirely sure that is a clever idea in the current climate.)

Generally though, finding the right gifts for family and friends can be an epic of biblical proportions, so, why not make it easier on yourself and just give them the cash?

Cold hard cash has so many advantages such as; you don't have to trek across town to get it, its handily available from your nearest ATM, one size fits all and if the lucky recipient has already got some, and if, for some reason, he or she is disappointed with such a versatile gift, any shop will gladly exchange it for goods of similar value!

Err but there is that teeny weenie problem; the niggling voice in your head that keeps telling you your "gift" is a bit of a cop-out.

Let's face it, cash gifts at Christmas have an image problem don't they?

Giving your nearest and dearest a few grubby notes doesn't exactly conjure up the spirit of the season, nor does it make you look like you've put a lot of thought into your gift. In fact it makes you look tighter than Santa in his red suit after too many mince pies.

However, rather than getting offended, many of us are actually grateful to get money. 40% of us would rather receive cash or a voucher than a present chosen by someone else, according to new (and perhaps not entirely objective!) research by the VA, the trade association representing the gift voucher industry.

Writing a cheque is marginally more personal than transferring the money online, and also safer, and another danger is that if the recipient is overdrawn, all you are doing is gifting the money to their bank. If you give a cheque they can at least choose which account to pay it into.

You can't be Scrooge-like if you decide to give cash, because there is no disguising how much it cost you. The same is true of vouchers, but they are considered more "acceptable" gifts because they are likely to be used for something special rather than disappearing into the recipient's daily spend.

Giving cash as a gift might sound a bit cheap, but that depends on who you give it to. If they already have plenty in the bank, they won't be too excited at getting a little more of the folding stuff. But if they are short of money, or young enough to be impressed by, say, £20, they might be very grateful.

And if you are still undecided about giving cash, it's time to ask yourself this question:

Would you rather receive more socks, underwear and towels or have the cash?

We thought so too...

Santa is taking a third of your Christmas pay cheque

Gone in 60 Seconds? More like spent in 60 Seconds!

At 1.09pm on Tuesday 11th December, a new record was set.

But we're not quite sure whether it is something to be excited about or something to worry over; we'll let you be the judge!

The record was set as shoppers spent £767,500 over the internet in a single minute.

(That's probably as much as Beckham earns for putting his boots on...)

The astonishing amount is the most money ever spent online by UK shoppers in a single minute and this massive surge was expected to make Tuesday Britain's biggest ever online shopping day.

Frankly. We're surprised the internet didn't break under all the strain.

Retail Decisions, which processes card payments, said that we would spend £370 million online during the day; this is 106% more than the same day last Christmas. Total e-retail sales during the last three months of 2007 are expected to hit £17.6 billion, a figure that is 82% higher than last year.

So much for money worries right?

It certainly does seem that we are not content to cut back this Christmas (although maybe it will once again be in our New Year's Resolutions?) as internet spending in the UK is likely to hit £40 billion this year, and is predicted to reach £162billion by 2020, when it will make up 40% of retail spending.

It also helps that internet prices are on average 13% cheaper than in shops.

Carl Clump, of Retail Decisions, said:

"Christmas internet shopping peaks on Mondays as people buy online during their lunchbreak to save on more trips to the high street. Our data supports the ongoing trend that internet retailers are enjoying another bumper Christmas."

"The message to consumers is: with demand so high, shop early. The message to retailers is: don't get caught out by this huge consumer appetite for online shopping."

So, is online shopping as good as everyone says and if so, how much are you going to spend?

Why not let us know in the comments?

Santa's new helper: the internet

Unless you have been hiding in Panama and pretending you are dead, it won't have escaped your notice that money worries seem to be the hot topic of conversation.

Credit cards, mortgages, loans....Britain's personal debt is increasing by £1 million every 4 minutes.

It appears that our need to either a) keep our head above water or b) just dive straight in is leading many of us into a sea of trouble.

Today in the UK:

- We will borrow an additional £335 million - Our average household debt will increase by over £13.45 - 77 of us will have our properties repossessed - 305 of us will be declared insolvent or bankrupt - Bank and building societies will hand us £1billion in mortgages - 6,600 of us with debt problems will contact Citizens Advice Bureau - More than 7,716 loan repayments are going unpaid by us - We will take out £526 million from cash machines - We will spend £1.4 billion on our plastic cards

Hmm, some food for thought there and some facts that would make you want to head straight for the Christmas sherry!

But just how much of our overspending is down to necessity and how much of it, is down to our desire for a "certain lifestyle?"

You know the kind of latte drinking, iPod toting, Sky Plus HD Plasma screen watching, latest label wearing, lifestyle that you really can't do without?

Here at the Money Hospital, we like the odd rant (we frequently have to sit through numerous ones by Finance Physician) and we did like what the Telegraph had to say about our current financial predicaments:

(Many people have)..."put their faith in the property market as a way to make their fortune and are now worried about what the future holds for them. Yet for some time now, the profile of credit-crazed Britain, where easy money oozes through the cracks of our society, has encouraged this behaviour. More and more people behave as if they have some weird, inalienable right to be rich.

How much, or indeed how little, the aspirationally affluent actually have in their bank accounts to fund this delusion seems to be the last consideration. Everyone is encouraged to live the dream and count the pennies later.

Yet perhaps we should not be surprised by this avarice, for our noses are constantly pressed against the great glass of modern life, as all are invited to admire the lifestyles of the new rich and famous: the tycoons and the sport stars, the lottery winners, ram raiders, pension fund robbers, raddled super-models, City traders and everyday crooks who gambol across newspapers and magazines like folk heroes.

All this could be yours, too, seems to be the subliminal message. Except, of course, it can't. Not without a price.

To this end, shop girls on low incomes buy handbags that cost more than a car. Stores offer credit to anything with a pulse. A £37,000 cocktail goes on sale in a London nightclub, and some idiot buys one.

Meanwhile, many fireside entrepreneurs, no doubt egged on by the kind of property porn programmes fronted by Kirstie Allsopp and her sister-in-crime, Sarah Beeny, are encouraged to put together a buy-to-let property portfolio.

Why not? Rent it out. Do it up and sell it for a profit. What could possibly go wrong?

Well, as thousands will find out when cheap mortgages run out next year, the days of the buy-to-let property deal as a one-way ticket to the pot at the end of the rainbow are well and truly over".

Phew, what a good rant!

Take a breather...and think about the following question: Who is to blame for our current cash predicament? Maybe it is the mortgage lenders?

After all, if they are willing to lend us 7 times our salary to get a property, then why shouldn't we take them up on the offer? Maybe you think it is the credit card companies and banks?

If they are willing to extend us all a healthy line of credit, then it would be wrong to not take it? After all, credit cards are very useful aren't they? And sometimes it makes sense to have one in case of emergency.

How about Kirsty Allsopp, Sarah Beeny and all the other property programme gurus?

They seem to paint a rose coloured picture where every property you buy and every home improvement you make is a sure fire cash cow, and you can be retiring before you know it. Hmm, perhaps it is the Government who is at fault?

Why? Well, maybe they tax us too much, make us pay too much for services and products and generally don't pay us enough. But maybe it really boils down to the personal responsibility of us the borrowers?

If you take out a mortgage at a low rate that you then know is going to shoot back up two years later, then it sort of make sense to have a basic plan to help you cope when it does. If not, well you then have to deal with what you have coming. That is how lessons are learned.

But, of course, we all tend to forget this. Nowadays, no one is expected to take responsibility for anything. Why? Because it's always got to be someone else's fault.

So, who is to blame for us being an overspending cash obsessed nation? Why not let us know in our poll below?

10 tips that will make sure you stay broke!