Martin Lewis warns against using shopping method this Christmas | Personal Finance | Finance

Martin Lewis has warned against using a popular shopping technique this Christmas.

Speaking on his Martin Lewis Money Show on ITV, the 51-year-old revealed his top tips for shopping this Christmas and Black Friday. Among those was avoiding the popular “buy-now-pay-later” schemes available on many websites, reports BirminghamLive.

The schemes often involve no immediate cost to the shopper. But, while Martin says these are often marketed as a “lifestyle choice”, they are actually a form of debt.

The finacial guru says one-in-six people fall behind on their payments while one-in-three are on Universal Credit. Speaking on his show, he said “Please do not ‘buy now and pay later’ unless you have pre-planned and you actually need to spread the cost.

“The reason ‘buy now, pay later’ – which is ubiquitous on all online shopping sites these days – the reason it is interest free is because retailers make more money because people spend more and it tweaks our spending nipples and makes us want to buy more things.

“And we do not want our nipples tweaked in this way because it is a debt. It is debt. It might be marketed as a lifestyle choice but one in six people are behind on their payments and one in three people, who are on Universal Credit, are behind on payments according to Citizens Advice, and that can cause you credit problems and that can cause you fines.

“It might look innocuous, but ‘buy now, pay later’ is a debt. It is really cheap, great for spreading the cost, planned, for budgeting purposes, (but) not done on impulse, please.”

Martin’s top tips for Christmas shopping included buying more to get free delivery when shopping online and being cautious before buying a gift voucher for your nearest and dearest. He says you can often save money by buying a smaller item when shopping online if you are close to the free delivery threshold.

And warned against vouchers because they can be limiting. He also says they can often be worth nothing if the shop bought for goes into administration.

The expert also explained how viewers can get shopping discounts this festive period. It comes after one man revealed he saved £60 on a Macbook Pro.