Ho, ho, ho – only 55 days to go…. whaaaaat!?!
Yep, that’s right. So if you haven’t started stocking that piggybank up with shiny coins, you may need a little helping hand to ensure a cool Yule. The last thing you want to do is borrow money on a credit card to buy presents and festive food. So here are a few tip tips to help the run-up to December 25 slide as smoothly as Santa’s sleigh on freshly-fallen snow.
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Budget from January
It may be too late for some but I start putting money away for Christmas as early as January. If I think I might spend £600 on presents in total, that’s just £50 a month to save. We fritter away £50 in no time on those little trips to Aldi – you know the ones where you go for bread and milk but come back with a scuba diving mask and a strimmer?
Why not stick a little each month in a high interest account where it’s safely in place for when you need it? This avoids panic stations when it gets to December and you’re already sinking into your overdraft. And if you do have to borrow, make sure it’s on the best 0% interest deal you can find and pay it off as soon as you can.
You can always hit the summer sales if you’re super organised. But be careful not to buy things like clothes, food or electrical items as a receipt will be worthless in six months time.
2. Avoid unnecessary gifts
If you’re reading this and thinking, “ARRGGHHH! What about the joy of giving?!”, then consider this. You may want to buy a friend a gift but have they got the money to buy one back? Maybe not. But they might feel obliged to return the sentiment. This then means instead of doing something nice for them, you’re actually becoming a burden.
Photo by freestocks.org on Unsplash
You are obviously going to want to buy gifts for your nearest and dearest, but think about making a pact with friends to all meet up for a drink or to do an activity rather than spend hundreds of pounds on presents for each other.
3. Check out deals
“Christmas isn’t about secondhand stuff!” I hear you holler. It doesn’t have to be. There are so many great discounts to be found on sites like eBay, where there are tons of ‘new’ stores offering lots of money off the usual retail price. Don’t forget that sneaky retailers like to do the old “raise the prices for a day and then announce a huge 20% off sale” which sends people flocking to overload their baskets.
Only yesterday my toddler was checking out a princess jigsaw marked 50% off in Debenham’s – it was still £9. The very same jigsaw was only £8 full price in Smyths Toys. Look around before you buy and be sure to check out sites like Groupon or Vouchercodes to get significant money off.
4. Homemade gifts
While they wouldn’t always put them on their lists for Santa, people LOVE handmade gifts. FACT. Last year a very good friend of mine made me some aromatic bath salts and put them in a little Kilner jar. It was lovely to receive something so thoughtful. There are lots of things you could make to save yourself some much-needed cash. Knit someone a scarf; make some festive cookies; bottle and brew them some of your beer. The list is endless.
5. Save cash on cards and wrapping paper
Christmas wrapping paper is so expensive – £4 for a 3 metre roll. How much? You’ve only wrapped one toy dinosaur and you can already see the dreaded grey cardboard tube peaking out. Simply buy a large roll of brown paper and some string. Your presents will look surprisingly on-trend and actually pretty charming. If Martha von Trapp thought it was alright, then it’s good enough for Uncle Derek.
And when it comes to cards, kids are your saviour. The way I see it is they get hours of entertainment from all the cutting out, glueing and painting, while you sit back and relax with a wet cloth at the ready. And before you know it you’ve got 20 cards which will be dearly appreciated and treasured for years – saving you anything up to £6 for a pack of 10.
There you have it: A few ways to keep calm and save some pennies on the run up to Christmas. If you still need help with what to buy people or you don’t know how to choose the Christmas tree least likely to shed needles all over the carpet, head to www.christmas.co.uk for some inspiration.