Christmas is now only 4 months away, which seems strange considering how this year has gone. However, I am now starting to think of ways for us to start saving extra money for Christmas.
Over the last few years, we have reduced who we purchase for, saving a little money on our overall budget. So for siblings who have children, we now just buy for our nieces or nephews. This helped out everyone, saving some money and buying gifts they may not have been able to afford.
We have a little saving put aside already for Christmas however with everything going on lately I am working hard on boosting our savings pot through surveys, self-employed work and matched betting. As well as saving money for Christmas presents I am also saving for our food budget for Christmas as we have a few more treats then than we normally would.
This is not about cutting everything out for Christmas, it is about finding a way to have the Christmas you want within your budget.
If you are struggling with saving money for Christmas there are lots of other ways to help keep the cost down too but still enjoy yourself too.
- Make the most of cashback – I have written about cashback previously here and I use Quidco all the time when I am making purchases. You might not earn lots, however, if you are spending the money any way you may as well earn a little money back for it!
- Take advantage of the offers – There is no shame in looking around for offers. If you see good deals on offer such as buy 1 get 1 free or 50% off on items you were looking to purchase, snap them up and put them away. Saving a little on all your gifts will soon start to add up.
- Shop for little bits each week – When it comes to food shopping, I buy non-perishable items every week to help keep the costs down. So one week I may pick up things such as crackers or pickles then the next week I’ll get something else. This keeps the cost spread over a number of weeks.
- Enter competitions – You may not win anything or you could win the perfect Christmas gift. There is no harm in gifting an item you have won, I never understand why people feel shame in gifting an item they have won.
With 19 weeks until Christmas, there really is no reason not to get cracking with your Christmas plans.
How do you plan ahead for Christmas?
