THE weather is miserable, everyone is all partied out after Christmas and bank balances are tight. 

If you were born in January, you probably already had a hunch about this one but new research has made it official; January babies get short-changed on birthday gifts. 

The new research comes from financial comparison site money.co.uk which reckons babies born in January will miss out on up to £1,120.11 worth of presents over their lifetime.

The figure comes as one in 10 people admit to spending a third (34% - £13.82) less on birthday presents in January than the rest of the year.

The average UK adult is set to spend £392 on birthday gifts in 2020, resulting in a national total of almost £26billion being spent on celebrating birthdays this year alone.

The most money is spent on partners (£91), followed by children (£72) and parents (£45).

The data also revealed Brits do in fact have a favourite parent, with people on average spending 16% (£6.78) more on their mums than they spend on their dads.

Salman Haqqi, personal finance expert at money.co.uk, commented: "After the financial excesses of Christmas, for many people January is a time for getting back in control of their money.

"This often involves reigning in spending on purchases such as gifts, activities and nights out, which may leave those born in January feeling a little left out.

"However, birthdays aren't the only gifting occasions people have to budget for. There are also traditional occasions such as weddings, christenings and anniversaries, as well as more modern celebrations that are growing in popularity, such as engagement parties, baby showers, gender reveal parties, job anniversaries and promotions.

"It all adds up to a lot of expenditure that people really need to create a plan and budget for."

To help people benchmark and manage their spending on gifts, money.co.uk has created a Gifting Index calculator, which provides a breakdown of what people are typically spending on different occasions, plus a budgeting tool to help them plan out their annual gifting spending.