At Christmas, Britons are expected to spend around £560 (via M&S Money) but very little of us actually stick to the budget we set! So here are some ideas on how to make Christmas affordable. Some ideas came from Confused.com, life insurance price comparison site, as well as our own. If you have some more, feel free to mention them in the comment section below and we could feature them in the post.
Shop Around
This is the best piece of advice we can give you when doing Christmas shopping. There are loads of sales on and plenty of alternative providers out there so make sure you do your research. Check out your prices online before you go shopping so you know how much things should cost. Make sure you look into buying online as many stores offer free delivery to your house, without the hassle of Christmas shopping mania.
Send e-cards
There are lots of great e-card sites out there and some sites such as Moonpig who are donating money to charity. You can personalise them with pictures and then send them to your loved ones, directly from the site.
Use Your Vouchers
Make use of your discount vouchers to buy your loved ones something different at a reduced price. Also, some of the voucher sites, are doing a Christmas section of their site so be extra helpful, so have a look- here’s one from Voucher Codes.
Make it Yourself!
Don’t panic, we are not expecting you create your own DVD of Avatar or your own version of the Mona Lisa! There are plenty of things you can make without having to be a film producer or an artist. Why not fill a basket with homemade treats or make your own calendar with family pictures. Just search ‘make your own Christmas presents’ and you are bound to find inspiration!
Stick it on the plastic!
Some of us simply wont be able to pay for all of Christmas in December and January’s pay packets, so we will have to use the credit card. There is nothing wrong with doing this, but just make sure you pick the right card. A Barclaycard credit card for example, comes with 22 month 0% interest- well worth a look. Make sure you shop around to find the best card for you.
What do you think of our ‘cheap Christmas’ ideas? Will you be doing any of them? What are your ideas on how to save money this Christmas? Let us know…
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November 22, 2023
lifestyle