WITH less than 100 days until Christmas, there’s no time like the present to start getting organised.
The cost of living crisis doesn’t have to take all of the joy out of the festive season, but it will be important to plan, budget and track your spending to avoid a financial hangover.
To help keep the costs down this Christmas, Jonathan Merry, financial expert and CEO at MoneyTransfers.com has revealed the simple ways you can make your money go further this December
Set a budget (and stick to it!)
First things first, work out what you can actually afford to spend.
The worst thing you can do is begin your Christmas shopping and realise that you can’t actually afford to pay it all off.
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Before you get overwhelmed by endless wishlists and Christmas dinner requests, it’s worth reminding yourself that Christmas is only one day of the year, and it’s not worth getting into financial difficulties over it.
There are several free tools you can use online to calculate a budget. Once a budget has been set, it’s important to keep an eye on your spending to avoid blowing your budget. Creating a bank of all of your receipts is a good way to do this.
Keep an eye out for sales
Another reason why we overspend on our Christmas shopping is when we leave it until the very last minute. If you are able to, it’s always better (and a lot less stressful) to plan ahead and set a deadline to get your shopping done.
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Also, keep an eye open for deals around Black Friday and Cyber Monday, as well as any more general pre-winter sales because these will give you some great savings. Make the most of the sales too by writing a list of the gifts you need to buy for Christmas and then purchase them when the sale goes live.
Always remember: a bargain is only a bargain if you were planning on buying it in the first place. Otherwise, it's just an impulse buy.
Be savvy with your food shop
With the soaring prices of food, many households will be anxious about this year’s supermarket shopping for Christmas.
One of the most effective ways to reduce the cost of your food shop is to prepare the meals based on how many guests you are feeding — and only buy what you need, instead of adding more and more extravagant food items onto the list simply because it’s “Christmas”.
Once you know how many people you are hosting, figure out exactly what you’ll be making and how much of it to buy for the number of guests. This way, you'll cut down on both costs and food waste.
There is no reason why you need to buy premium food and drink options, instead of the more affordable-branded goods. Most of the time, you’re simply judging the packaging rather than the taste of the food. Instead, you’re much better off buying what's right for you and your household, not the shop.
Suggest Secret Santa
Secret Santa doesn’t have to be a work thing only. Instead of buying gifts for every single family member, putting names into a hat and picking out one person to buy for is the perfect solution to save money – and time.
With the pandemic restricting our Christmas plans for the past few years, many families will just be grateful to spend quality time with each other. While presents are exciting, the most important part of the festive period is creating memories with loved-ones.
Be careful when buying gift cards
Although gift cards can seem like an easy present idea, especially for those who are difficult to shop for, they can be a bit of a risky purchase.
For instance, if the retailer goes bust then they usually stop accepting gift cards and there’s not a lot you can do to get your money back. Ever since the pandemic, an increasing number of retailers have gone into administration so it’s not an unlikely scenario either.
Also, gift cards often have an expiry date so you’re relying on the recipient to remember to actually use it. On top of this, gift cards can get lost pretty easily too, so again that’s more money down the drain.
To prevent any of this from happening, handing out cash instead of a gift card is a much safer option and it means the recipient isn’t restricted in any way.
Consider second-hand gifts
There shouldn’t be any shame in shopping for second-hand gifts – just because something is pre-loved, that doesn’t make it any less valuable to the recipient.
Buying second-hand gifts is the most sustainable way to shop, as well as helping you to save money, it helps the environment too. In fact, according to research by preloved site Vinted, only 1 in 6 people plan to buy solely second-hand gifts this year for Christmas.
Don’t be tempted by 'buy now, pay later' schemes
These offers are so tempting when it comes to reducing the upfront costs but it’s worth questioning whether you can actually afford it in the first place, if you are considering this kind of payment plan.
Also, there are all sorts of risks associated with ‘buy now, pay later’ and failing to make a payment on time could have a negative impact on your credit score. And no amount of Christmas shopping is worth that!
Consider delivery costs
While shopping online can feel like a huge time-saver, be mindful of delivery costs because they soon add up – especially if you are relying on next-day delivery.
Where possible, try to shop well in advance and select any free options that are available as this will cut the costs down significantly. Look for standard delivery options or free collection instore.
Use cashback sites for your presents
While you shouldn’t let cashback determine where you shop, it’s always worth checking to see if it’s available.
You can sign up easily for free then click through a cashback site to buy something. Essentially, these sites get paid for driving traffic and in return, give some of this money to you. Being savvy and making small decisions like this can shave off the pounds here and there, so it’s worth bearing in mind.
Organise travel well in advance
If you are travelling to another household for the festive period, then planning your mode of transport is something to do sooner rather than later.
Ticket prices, journey times and traffic always increase during the Christmas period so if you know in advance that you have to use public transport to get somewhere in time for Christmas Day, it's worth booking your ticket early.
With the rising price of fuel, you could always look to share lifts with other family members or friends and split the cost of petrol.
Think twice before sending money abroad
If you have family members who live in a different country, rather than spending a fortune on postage overseas, transferring some money may seem like a quick and easy gift.
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However, there may be fees or charges for sending or receiving the money so always check this first. Also, bear in mind that fees may vary between money transfer services and for the amount you want to send.
Exchange rates can fluctuate quickly too, so make sure the information you’re shown on websites is up-to-date. It’s important you put in the exact amount you're looking to send as this may affect the rate you're offered.
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