With Christmas just over 3 months away, many of us are going to be looking at ways to save money this Christmas to make sure our budget stretches as far as it can. If the c-word is starting to fill you with fear, don’t let it.
The first thing to remember is that this is just 1 day of the year and it is not about the presents you gift or even receive, it is about the memories that you make over the festive period that is going to stay with you forever. If you are looking to save money this Christmas, here are our top tips to help you out.
9 Ways to save money this Christmas
Set your budget –
Before you start anything, set your budget and stick to it!
Whatever you do, you need to make sure that you are realistic with the budget that is being set. There is no point for you to set a budget that is either not realistic in terms of your savings or spending capacity, it is what is going to help you keep to your budget.
Cut your unnecessary delivery charges –
Be careful of those delivery charges that will start to stack up quickly when you are doing your online shopping. It might not seem like much £3 here or £2.50 there but it starts to add up and you will find it eating into your budget.
Check your gifting list –
Whilst we are getting ready for Christmas, we always find ourselves looking at who we are buying for and tend to buy more than is needed.
This year, start with a list of who you are buying for and then take some time to go through the list and see if you are able to work on trimming the list. This is not to say you don’t care about who you are buying for but maybe buying for a few fewer people will help everyone out.
Use loyalty card vouchers and points –
If you have not spent your loyalty card points throughout the year, now is a great time to use them. It will help you reduce your spending over the festive period.
Don’t forget to also check out if they are offering you any additional discounts or offers using your card, even if it is bonus points that you can use in the new year. Some places like Boots give you bonus points during certain windows, which is great for stocking up in the new year on toiletries and other home needs.
Regifting is nothing to be ashamed of –
If you have something you may have received as a gift or even won, don’t feel ashamed if you regift it in future. If you prefer not to regift, you can shop for preloved items at a fraction of the cost.
For your own sanity though, I would make sure when you are storing a regifted item that you pop a little note to say who gave you it to ensure you don’t regift to them in error.
Don’t shop on impulse –
Impulse buying can be dangerous at any point in the year, none more so than in the build-up to Christmas. Before you start buying any gifts, start to work out what gift ideas you are looking to get for each recipient. This means you are not likely to go off budget or on a tangent buying unecessary gifts.
Use your Tesco Clubcard vouchers differently –
Most of us, including me, use our Clubcard vouchers to help with the food shopping in December. However, if you are doing some shopping for Christmas, you will be able to convert some vouchers into 3x the value. If this is something that you will be purchasing, then the additional voucher bonus you will get is better than using the vouchers on food shopping.
Make sure you use cashback –
Cashback itself is not going to save you money due to the time it takes to get your cashback. However, it all starts to add up and will give you a little cash boost in the new year.
Don’t forget that cashback doesn’t need to be used for just Christmas, you can use it all year round as long as you are shopping online. Check out this guide here for more information on how to use cashback sites.
Savvy stocking fillers –
Stockings do not need to be packed full of expensive items, they are all about the fun.
With our stocking fillers we always go for sweets, the kids love those and in recent years we have been adding things such as socks, fidget spinners, little books and pens. There are so many different items you can pick up that are cheap and fun plus will pack out the stocking on a budget!
Christmas doesn’t need to break the bank or bring in the blues, just taking time to spend it with loved ones is the main priority. If you do decide to spend money this Christmas, just make sure you are doing it within your budget and within your means.
