Christmas is for the family and it should be lean.The country needs to be protected from inflation the worst evil.After the uncontrolable debt bubble of 10 years or so . Interest rates should stay up.When house prices were going up by the lift nobody spoke about stopping it then with rising rates.

NICHOLAS , LARNACA, CYPRUS

If retailers did not open on a Sunday the consumer would not have been tempted to go and spend money that they haven't got.... thus using credit .People could stay at home to spend important family time together...or maybe think about what they could"SAVE UP" for!!

SARA VON SYDOW, Stratford upon Avon, UK

This my be the year when Christmasis put into it's proper perspective, in years gone by it was a case of who could spend the most. I hope this year people think about the amount they spend. It's a perfect opertunity and great excuse for people to spend less, or in many cases, get into more debt!

RayB, Newcatle upon Tyne, UK

Why should credit - over spending and Christmas all be lumped in one sentence? If you're an over spender then you'll get into huge trouble. Answer? Don't do it. Don't go whinging on about the price of electronic gadgets and branded trainers. To corrupt the well known phrase 'Just Don't do it'.

Chris Williams, Bridgend, UK

I think this is a clear cut case from reading the comments below. The only people interested in keeping the debt machine going is big business.

Chris, Chipping Norton,

I have just had my limit increased from £6000 to £9000 withiut asking.

Andrew Gray, Edinburgh, Scotland

I have a 18 month old, me and my partner are splitting up, I only work 10 hours a week, I don't know what this means for my future, but when moving my wages into another account, they advised me to get a credit card as splitting up is difficult, I said no, and they still persisted.

Amy, Staffordshire,

Alex,

Nope, we still get them to! In fact, got one a few weeks ago offering me '£800 to be delivered to my door, then weekly cash collections by our local friendly agent'.... quoted apr was 1750%.

I thought it was a joke. Unfortunately, some may not.

Hamish, Reading, UK

It is good to see common sense from banks at last. But I fear this will push borrowers to doorstep loans. I had a letter pushed through the door for cash loans the other day. Interest rates were 183% on £300 over 12 months!

ian, Edinburgh, Scotland

Aw, how too bad.
Now one can't indulge in a orgy of borrowing and
spending at Christmas.
Maybe this will cause the true spirit of Christmas
to be celebrated.

Jerry Scroggin, Phoenix, Arizona/USA

Call me naive, but I thought Christmas had something to do with the birth of Jesus Christ and spending time with family and friends. It's only the greedy retailers that have turned the 25th of December into a money making bonanza streching from September to January.

Adrian, London, UK

Why not drop the BOE rate to 4% and give themselves the next three months off to go and make a bit of money?

Andrew Fanner, Cowplain, UK

Lean Xmas, no. Lean purse, yes. So, presents/treats collected over year, pickles, jams, petit fours, cakes, advent biscuits; homemade. Kids decorate the tree, help prepare turkey etc. Cosy home, lots of fun, excitement, mistletoe, champagne, family and friends. Magical, imaginitive, loving times!

Jo, Newton Abbot, England

I have never understood the Xmas obsession - it is one day in a year of 365 why spend hundreds of pounds you cannot afford. The kids are not going to die if they do not get the latest bit of plastic. The only way I spend hundreds over Xmas is to get away from it

H Horse, jersey, uk

"It is hoped that the MPC will reduce the rate by a quarter point to 4.75 per cent".

Who exactly is hoping for a cut? Could the article be any more vague?

Patrick, London,

My mother-in-law co-ordinates a Christmas savings scheme for the entire family. We all put in our own set amount each month and get it all back with interest in November. I don't know what I did before I joined - January is now a much nicer month of the year!

emma ireland, Ormskirk, England

Good! Maybe this will end the materialistic merry-go-round Christmas has become. Even as an atheist, I believe Christmas should be about family togetherness, reflection and charity; not repeated trips to the mall and Nintendo Wii.

James, London,

We've stopped spending Christmas in the UK and stay with relatives in France. We found the whole materialistic experience here increasingly dismal, and the pressure to spend ridiculous amounts of money on pointless presents was becoming greater each year. The French are far more restrained.

Sue, Sheffield, UK

What difference will a cut in base rate make? Most people are paying mortgages linked to money market rates and credit card rates. If you have not got the message yet the days of cheap capital are over. You have to pay the right price for money

Colin Grant, Montreal, Canada

God bless us, everyone !

Mark B, Hull, UK

So? Our 'have it all now, pay later' society will just have to buy what they can afford without relying on credit. Christmas might be all the better for it

Diane, South Brent,

Christmas is about family. You do not have to have loads of presents to have a great time. We had a tight Christmas when interest rates were at 15% and our parents asked what was most important to us: 1) Family 2) Tree 3) The Venison.
We had one of best Christmas ever playing lots of Scrabble

Rupert, London, UK

This is where we should have been with lending for the past few years, lending only if you can afford to repay

spencer, london, uk

What, no spend, spend, spend? Got to have it now, to hell with the consequences...

It's going to be a wonderful Christmas. Perhaps people will think of Jesus for a change!

Kris, Fife, Scotland

hear hear

Keith Jones, Reading, England

I think its crazy the way people get themselves into so much debt for one day in the year, christmas has lost its meaning and is so over commercialised that all children think of now is getting stuff. Parents sholud get tough and this could be the best way of teaching them that

Tanya Womack, Gosport, UK

Christmas on credit? Am I the only one who thinks that borrowing money for December 25th (or any other day for that matter) is completely mad?

Susan, Cambridge,

So Christmas for some will not be it's usual " living beyond our means" celebration? TOUGH! Perhaps these people will realise what Christmas is really about. If you can't afford it, DON'T DO IT!!

Meldroo, Oldham, England

Am I the only one who is still being inundated with unsolicited letters offering loans? Is it because I have no need for, or intention of getting, a loan? Whatever, it is a total waste of paper and resource yet still it comes.

Alex, Salisbury, United Kingdom

So actually the story is that "Households who live beyond their means face lean Christmas"? That puts a very different complexion on it - only the lazy and ill-prepared with have problems and they have only themselves to blame.

John Scott, London,

Cancel christmas.
Teach the greedy buy buy buy brigade a real Lesson.

rick, newcastle, uk

The nonavailability of easy credit to fund Christmas could be a blessing in disguise for many people - it will force them to only spend what they can afford.

Philip, Wellingborough, UK