79% of students will struggle financially this Christmas

Students arriving for Manchester University's freshers week queue up at a cash machine to draw money in Manchester, England. (Christopher Furlong | Getty Images)

Students are planning to spend an average of £170 this Christmas - with £119 devoted to buying presents and £51 left over for socialising.

Despite acknowledging their financial situation, only 57 per cent of students have been saving cash to tide them over into the New Year.

The poll, from Save the Student, found that male students plan to spend more on socialising over this period, whereas female students will spend £14 more on presents - but 79 per cent of both sexes worry where the money will come from.

A Save the Student representative said: "Budgeting is still a tool that's neglected – and if there's one New Year's resolution that students should seize upon, it's balancing the books. Being financially sensible should be for life, not just for Christmas."

Save the Student surveyed 2,166 students across the nation and found that approximately nine per cent are planning to spend £200 to £300 on gifts this year; this, the site claims, illustrates the importance of a strong financial education.

“We carry out this survey every year, and overall Christmas spending is up £9 on 2013,” said Jake Butler, Save the Student’s editor.

Respondents also referred to “Black Friday” when describing how they were cutting costs, demonstrating how the US phenomenon has marked itself on the UK shopping calendar.

Warwick University second year Oliver Hague said: “I have a fairly small family but even trying to get gifts for my parents and sister isn't easy. The hardest thing is trying to justify how much (or little) to spend - on one hand I'm a student with very limited funds but on the other I often spend £30 on myself on a single night out!”