Martin Lewis says teachers should not get Christmas presents from their class while hard-up families are battling cost of living crisis
- He suggested a joint present from the whole class as a better idea
Martin Lewis has warned against an unnecessary obligation to buy teachers Christmas presents this year while hard-up families are battling the cost of living crisis.
The financial journalist has emphasised Christmas is just one day, and should be spent with family rather than creating a ‘financial hangover’ for yourself in the new year by overspending on gifts.
‘Many people will know I’ve been campaigning for years on banning unnecessary presents, that’s not the presents under the tree or your spouse, that’s that ever growing list of family, friends, teachers that we feel obligated to buy for,’ he said in a Times Radio interview.
He added: ‘Teachers do an amazing job but perhaps they need a collective present from everybody in the class together.’
Mr Lewis has since filmed a video on X where he clarifies it is not his view that there should be ‘some sort of legislative ban on giving teachers presents,’ but said we have to be careful that we don’t ‘make it a matter of course’.
‘Many people will know I’ve been campaigning for years on banning unnecessary presents,’ Mr Lewis said (stock image)
Martin Lewis has warned against an unnecessary obligation to buy teachers Christmas presents this year
He recognised the amazing job teachers do and that people are grateful.
‘But I do have slight worries that when you’re talking about individuals giving teachers gifts out of their own pockets, then those with the biggest pockets are able to make teachers more grateful,’ he said.
‘I’m sure most teachers don’t behave in that way but I do think that sets a moral hazard.
‘I also think we have to be very careful amidst the cost of living crisis that we don’t make it a matter of course that people buy gifts for teachers and therefore put unnecessary, unaffordable pressure on every parent who’s got a kid at school to buy their teacher a gift. I don’t think any of this is coming from teachers by the way.’
Mr Lewis said his solution for those thinking of buying teachers gifts would be to do a class collection.
Those who can afford it can then donate money, but the gift would come from the whole class.
Mr Lewis has since filmed a video on X where he clarifies it is not his view that there should be ‘some sort of legislative ban on giving teachers presents,’ but said we have to be careful that we don’t ‘make it a matter of course’
His comments came after a savvy mother revealed how she manages to spend little over £300 during the Christmas period, and encouraged people on a budget to follow her lead.
Read more: I’m a mother-of-two and I manage to keep Christmas costs down to £300 – here are my top tips for saving money during the festive season
Stacey Victoria, 36, from West Yorkshire, runs the Instagram page @home_with_stacey where she gives other parents budgeting tips in case they might be struggling.
Speaking to The Mirror, the mother-of-two said the cost of living crisis has affected her ‘massively’, however she is not letting that spoil her Christmas.
She said: ‘I think we need to do all we can to put things in place to try and ease the pressure off ourselves – and going for less materialistic gifts is the way forward.’
Stacey, who is mother to Emily, nine, and Isabella, six, revealed she used to spend just short of £900 on the festive season every year but this year she has managed to save £500 on festivities.
Stacey said she often creates her own coupons for days out with the children as gifts, saying kids don’t need expensive toys to be happy.
She relies on the four-gift rule, which is something they want, something they need, something to wear and something to read.
She added it’s a good idea to make a budget for each person and stick to it when buying gifts.
The mum also suggested making gifts for other people to save some money, including jams, chutneys, and face masks.
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