Christmas is one of the best periods of the year, when you can spend valuable time with friends and family and treat yourself to some wonderful food and drink. One of the downsides is it can cost a lot of money to organise, so it pays to save cashwherever you can.
Set out a budget
Before you start spending any money, it pays to make a budget . This will help stop you from overspending and set out a clear limit on how much you can afford to spend. Overestimate each item a little bit, as that is being realistic, and keep referring back to the list as you go, so you keep on track and don’t run out of money before you’ve got everything you need.
Make the most of cash back
If you start planning early enough, you can make the most of cashback schemes around Christmas. Try to avoid using the points built up on groceries and any department stores cards you may have during the year. Using the cashback will help cover the expensive of paying for a large turkey, any alcohol and other luxuries you want to get in for the festive period.
Finding the cash
With all the presents, food, drink and decorations to pay for, sometimes it can be hard to find all the money you need. There are some short term loans that may be able to help, which means you have the cash you need and you don’t have to pay it back in one lump sum. Before committing, always ensure you can afford to pay the full amount back and that the company is FCA registered.
Only buy what you need
Food costs are one of the biggest expenditures over Christmas. And when you go round the supermarket it’s easy to be tempted by the many deals on offer. In most cases this means you end up with food you don’t need and will struggle to finish. Make a list of food essentials and stick to it. If you can afford one or two extras, maybe put the money towards another present, or even put it towards next year’s Christmas savings!
Save on gifts
There’s always a lot of pressure to spend big around Christmas. It can create a lot of stress that isn’t fun for you or anyone else. Talk to loved ones and friends about setting a spend limit on presents. You don’t have to go into all the reasons why, but just enough detail so they understand. People always say Christmas is a time to spend with friends and family – which is true – and removing presents from thepicture allows you concentrate on each other, rather than material gifts.
Do Christmas gift exchanges
If gifts are important to you, then there are others ways to cut down costs. Do a secret Santa or draw names, so that means you only have to buy for one person. This means you can buy a really nice gift for them, rather than spreading your money across several people and giving them less thoughtful presents. Whether it’s for the family, or group of friends, it’s a good way of still exchanging gifts while also controlling your spending.
No comments:
Post a Comment