While Christmas is a wonderful time to get together with family and friends, it can also be incredibly expensive. With careful planning and budgeting, however, you can reduce the overall amount you spend and have a merry Christmas for less. Here are some tips for spending less money this festive season.
Budgeting tips
1. Set yourself a budget and try to stick to it. This will help you be more in control this season. Make a list of costs, including presents and food, and allocate money in advance .
2. Determine who you are buying for this year, and if money is tight, notify people in advance that you will not be buying presents. A great way of cutting down present buying is arranging a secret Santa with family and friends. Put a limit on the amount that you can spend on each other.
3. Some banks offer cash bonuses for switching accounts; Christmas might be a good time to do just that. An extra £100 doesn’t go amiss at Christmas.
4. Use your supermarket loyalty points and vouchers to save money. By accumulating all year, you can reduce the cost of your Christmas food bill or buy presents.
5. If you have something large that you want to buy for someone, such as a TV, it is better to wait until the sales. Buy the item in January and get it delivered by a service after the Christmas rush, such as a same day courier in Reading.
6. Why not sell some items you no longer need before Christmas? Not only will this help make room for presents, but it will release some much-needed cash. If you’re selling in bulk, why not use a delivery service such as https://www.uk-tdl.com/?
7. When budgeting for Christmas dinner, why not spend a little less on food? Instead of buying the most expensive items, you can spend a lot less by using budget supermarkets.
Money-saving present ideas
8. Instead of buying presents for someone, why not offer them a service instead, such as babysitting or a few hours cleaning the garden? All you need to do is create an appropriate gift voucher for the recipient.
9. Avoid buying gift vouchers where retailers may potentially go out of business.
10. Kids don’t care where their presents came from, so check online for the cheapest version of a much-wanted toy.
