With Christmas just days away now, the concept of disposable income is becoming an increasingly distant memory for many of us.

The sound of rapidly loosening purse strings can be heard echoing throughout the capital - and if you’ve got a Christmas shopping list that far exceeds your budget, we may know why.

A new online survey has lifted the lid on the reckless spending behaviour leaving Londoners out of pocket - and with the most expensive holiday of the year just around the corner, now’s the time for your rehabilitation.

Making unnecessary impulse purchases

If there’s one thing we love in London, it’s buying items that are of no remote use to us. Throughout the capital, shoppers are making buying decisions based purely on impulse - whether we’re being reeled in by the faint illusion of value or spending our hard-earned cash on glorified gimmicks. In fact, almost a third of Londoners admit to making needless impulse purchases on a regular basis.

Top tip: if you’re considering buying something you don’t necessarily need, mull that decision over for an hour or so and see whether the itch persists. If the urge is still strong, maybe it’s meant to be.

Paying for subscriptions we don’t even use

Whether it’s Netflix, Spotify or Amazon Prime, Londoners love a good monthly subscription - even if it’s for a service we make no use of at all. A quarter of us have confessed to paying for unused subscriptions on a monthly basis, which begs the question: How much money could we be wasting each month without realising it?

Top tip: Take inventory of your direct debits and consider whether you’re getting value for money here. If you’re paying for any subscriptions you haven’t taken advantage of in months, these should be the first to get the axe.

Living in our overdrafts

No-one likes being overdrawn, but some of us do depend on it - a little over 20 per cent of us, in fact.

Many Londoners have revealed that they rely on their overdraft every month because their basic wage simply won’t stretch far enough, meaning what’s intended as a financial lifeline is often being used as an extension of our monthly income.

Top tip: if you find yourself constantly dipping in and out of the red, it may be time to entertain the idea of structured financial budgeting. From the 50-20-30 guideline to the Money Advice Service Budget Planner, tricks and tools range from the simple to the sophisticated.

Exceeding our phone contract limits

Whether you send a torrent of texts, spend a small portion of your life on the phone or have an insatiable appetite for data usage, exceeding the limits of your phone contract can result in some hefty additional charges. Almost a fifth of Londoners admit to living well beyond their agreed limits and paying the price for this excess.

Top tip: Contact your phone provider to find out whether a less restrictive contract could prove more economical in the long run. Chances are, you could be paying significantly less by upgrading your monthly contract, rather than continuing to rack up excess charges.

Paying more than we need to on our monthly bills

TV, phone and internet bills can amount to quite a sum of money, especially if you haven’t tried your luck in the haggling department. Negotiating a better deal on your monthly payments doesn’t have to be a headache, and can help you save a bundle - but many people living in the capital are yet to test the waters with their monthly service providers.

Top tip: Sharpen your negotiation skills and get your monthly providers on the phone for a masterclass in haggling. Nothing ventured, nothing gained - and you may find there’s rather a lot of wiggle room when it comes to what you pay each month.

With the Christmas countdown now in full swing, some Londoners will need to break the habit of a lifetime to avoid a frugal festival season - but by making some little lifestyle changes, it looks like we could see some big savings.

Survey by Solution Loans

Are you guilty of at least one of these bad spending habits? Got any more corkers to add to the list? Leave a comment letting us know why you’re skint.