Christmas is only 7 weeks away, eek! If you’re anything like me you will already be thinking of ways to save money this festive season without compromising on Christmas spirit!
The reality is, Christmas is an expensive time of year, with the typically family spending around £500 more than on a normal month. Ouch.
But don’t worry, there are a few easy ways you can save money on your Christmas shopping this year, I hope you find them useful!
1. Sign up to TopCashback
TopCashback is a website that offers you cashback on purchases that you make online. They work with loads popular retailers such as Very (14% cashback) M&S and Boohoo, and even companies like Expedia, so you can even earn 11% cashback when you are booking your next holiday- how cool is that?
It’s completely free to sign up, and all you need to do is search for the retailer you want to shop at in TopCashback’s search bar, click the link to their website, and shop as normal. Easy Peasy!!
2. Make Homemade Christmas Gifts
Ok, this is definitely one of my favourite ways to save money at Christmas. I even wrote a blog post about it last year- check out out! Making homemade Christmas gifts is a really fun way to save money, and you can even get together with friends (and maybe wine hehe) and craft your Christmas gifts together- what’s more festive than that?
3. Take Advantage of Black Friday and Cyber Monday
If there are any larger items that you need to buy for gifts, then it’s well worth waiting for the Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals. This year black Friday is Friday 29th November, but most companies will be running deals for that entire week, ending on the Friday. My favourite place to go for Black Friday deals is, of course, Amazon. Amazon always have amazing deals, and if you are a prime member (you can get a free 30-day trial here to use for your Christmas shopping) you get free delivery on lots of products too- whoop!
Argos is another great place to get black Friday deals, as they sell pretty much everything, so you can get great deals for the whole family. They are only running deals on Friday 29th, so make sure you get online early!
4. Use Your Loyalty Card Points
If you have loyalty cards that you have been using during the year, now is a great time to spend your points! I am really looking forward to using my Nectar points and Boots points card to buy Christmas food and gifts, it feels like free money!
5. Be Organised!
Write a list of everyone you need to buy for, and make sure you don’t leave it ’till the last minute! When you shop in a rush, you panic and end up spending more than you needed to. Make sure all of your shopping is done by mid December, then you will have had a chance to shop without pressure, and you will have plenty of time to relax (and wrap gifts) in the week or two before Christmas day!
6. Decide on a Budget and Stick to it.
Christmas is NOT worth getting into debt over. Think about how much you can afford to spend, and what you need to buy. Allocate yourself an amount for food, as well as for any gifts you need to buy, and make sure you stick to the budget. If you’re on a tight budget for any reason this year and are worried about it, then speak to friends and family and advance and agree on a price limit for gifts that suits everyone.
When it comes to food, if you are hosting Christmas you can save money by shopping at places like Aldi and Iceland. And when guests ask what they can bring along on the day, take them up on their offer and suggest they they bring something to drink or a dessert, and that’s one less thing you have to buy!
Hopefully you’ve found these tips helpful! If there is anything you would like to add let me know in the comments and I will add it in later!