Christmas can be an expensive time of year. There is a lot to consider. From buying gifts to give to our nearest and dearest, to the cost of travel and then putting a spread on the dining room table on Christmas Day. It’s not all about one day either. The festivities last for a good few weeks, with the Christmas songs hitting the supermarket speakers earlier and earlier every year. There are probably family activities you want to get up to, places you want to visit, and treats you want to enjoy. Whilst you can find free things to do, a lot of Christmas costs money. That means weighing up what you want to do and then putting the cash aside for December. Let’s have a look at some brilliant ways to save for Christmas.
Put Money Aside Weekly Or Monthly
Do you know how much you usually spend on Christmas? If you don’t, it’s time to find out. It’s actually pretty easy to discover if you look through your online banking statements. Once you have that figure, you know round about how much you’ll spend this year. Meaning you can divide the number by 52, giving you the weekly payments you need to put away and save for Christmas. If you spent £520 last year, that would be £10 a week over the 52 weeks. That is much more manageable throughout the year than trying to come up with £520 in one go in December. You can do it weekly or monthly but it’s a great way to set cash aside for the annual event. That’s the key. We know what Christmas will be so we can plan for it.
You might be tempted to save with a Christmas savings club. However, what do you do if you pay into one of those and it goes bust? You aren’t guaranteed to get your money back. Also, if you put £500 in, you’re only going to get £500 out. You might as well earn interest on your own money, rather than have a business earn it on your cash. By setting up your own festive pot, you can fund it whenever you are able to and you’ll earn interest as you save for Christmas.
Earn & Use Cashback
Another great way to save for Christmas is to earn and use cashback. If you are buying things without earning any cashback, you are missing out on free money. Even earning 1% back via a cashback card can add up to huge amounts. If you do all of your monthly payments on that card and spend £1000 in a month, that’s £10 back in your pocket. Do that throughout the year and that’s £120 to put towards Christmas.
There are other ways to earn cashback too. If you shop online, be sure to click through to the retailer via a cashback site. This means your journey will track and you will earn a percentage of what you spend as cashback. It could be 5%, 10%, or maybe even 25%. Buy your Christmas gifts via the likes of Quidco and you’ll earn cashback as you buy your presents. This can then be put back into your pot to save for Christmas. You can easily make £300+ in cashback across a 12-month period. This can go a long way to helping you celebrate Christmas with your loved ones.
Take Advantage Of Bonuses
A great way to make your money go a little bit further is to keep an eye out for Christmas bonuses with retailers you are going to shop with. For example, Asda has a Christmas savings card. The idea is that you put money on it every now and save for Christmas. However if you do that you aren’t earning any interest, they have your money and are earning the interest! Instead, put your money into a bank account and you’ll earn the interest yourself.
The Christmas savings card gives you a bonus depending on how much you have saved onto it by a certain date. Check when the deadline is and the day before, pay the money you want onto the card. This way you’ve maximised the time it’s been growing in your account and will still get the bonus.
For the Asda card, you get a £15 bonus if you have £280 or more on the card. Of course, anything above £280 isn’t going to earn you additional bonuses. So get another savings card and put any extra onto that. There’s nothing stopping you from having three or four cards with £280 on each. If you are going to do your shopping at Asda, you might as well get the bonus! Take advantage of these bonus cards when you save for Christmas, but be sure to play the game and only put the money on the card when you need to.
Save Automatically
If you save for Christmas at regular points throughout the year, a great idea is to take the hassle out of it by using automation. Setting up automatic payments on payday will shift your cash around to where you want it to be. Manually doing this every month takes time and effort you might not have. Then the cash is where you want it when you need it. Automatic transfers are a great way to save time and can be used in many areas of your personal finances.
Be Open & Honest
Being able to save for Christmas is one thing but how about being able to save money on Christmas. We can’t all afford the festive season in the same way others can. Life happens and expensive bills fall through the letterbox. The car might have broken down or you might have lost your job. Christmas shouldn’t be a time for stress. It’s a time for peace, family, and love. So it might be an idea to have open and honest communication and conversations with people in your life.
Maybe you simply can’t afford to buy for your nieces and nephews this year. Or you are cutting back and won’t be exchanging gifts with the Mums in the playground. Gift giving can actually put pressure on others to feel like they have to reciprocate with a present back to you. You never know, having this awkward conversation might actually be a blessing to someone else who is also worrying about the financial side of Christmas.
Final Thoughts
There are lots of fantastic ways to save for Christmas. Just as there are lots of ways of saving how much you spend at Christmas. You just need to find the ways that work for you, your mindset, and your financial situation.
