Keeping Costs Down This Festive Season

The festive season is one of joy but it’s also that time of year when the pressure to spend is high. With costs rising, it’s a lot harder to manage the costs of Christmas and keep spending down. Christmas should be an enjoyable time with friends and family and not about how much cash you part with. 

Here’s some of our top tips for keeping your costs down this Christmas. 

AGREE PRESENT LIMITS 

Agree on a spending or present limit in advance with friends and family. This will help take the pressure off and you can be more creative and thoughtful with your gift ideas. Similarly, you could suggest a family or friend Secret Santa, with a budget to suit all.

CHARITY SHOP

Do a charity shop gift. Again, get creative with your presents and head to the local charity shop to see what treasures you can find for a bargain. It’s a fun and novel way to do something a bit different, you can get more for your money and it goes to a good cause - you never know you might find a real gem!

HOMEMADE GIFTS

Homemade gifts are thoughtful and don’t break the bank. Easy-to-make gifts include chocolates, lavender pillows, candles, photo calendars, bath bombs or bath scrubs. You could frame a favourite picture or poem, or write one of your own! If the recipient likes a sweet treat, fill a jar with the ingredients for a sweet treat like cookies or brownies. 

SHOP THE SALES 

While Black Friday can be overwhelming, use it as an opportunity to buy items or gifts that you really want or need at a lower price. To avoid overspending, do your research in advance, know what the standard price is and check different websites. Make a shopping list so that you only buy what you need! 

ONLINE MARKETPLACES 

You can find great bargains for really good quality items on places such as Facebook Market Place and Vinted. It helps to have an idea of what you’re looking for already before looking around. You can also use them to sell any unwanted items to raise some extra cash for your Christmas shopping! 

SPECIAL OFFERS

Save products on wish lists and create accounts with retailers and brands so that you can go back to things that you’ve seen and make checkout easy. Signing up for newsletters and following favourite brands on social media will mean you can be the first to know about any special offers. You can often get a discount code for signing up for a newsletter.  

BUDGET 

If it’s overwhelming managing your money around Christmas, then it’s key to make a budget and stick to it. First, work out how much you want to spend at Christmas. If you want to save over the year, it could be a good idea to open a separate bank account to pay into. Having a clear list of what you need to get makes it much easier to stick to a budget and not overspend.