Easy Money Saving Tips For Christmas

We’ve not got long to go until Christmas, and depending on when you get paid, you’ve probably only got one or two paydays between now and the big day. It might feel as though your time is almost up, and you’ll have to settle for a stingy festive season, but it’s not too late to make a few tweaks and save up a little stash.

Let’s set Friday 19^th December as the cut-off point and aim to save as much as possible before then. This gives us seven weeks to save and then just under a week to buy any remaining gifts, food and anything else required that we don’t have already.

So here are a few handy tips to help save money fast:

Just say no

It can be hard to say no to your friends’ invitations for nights out and meals in nice restaurants, but if you want to save up for a great Christmas, you’re going to have to learn to say no. The cost of nights out can really mount up. Say for example you usually go out every Friday and spend £20 (That’d be a really cheap night for me) if you don’t go on a night out for the next seven weeks you could save £140.

Look after the pennies

Old folks always say that if you look after the pennies, the pounds will look after themselves. And it’s true. Have a think about all the unnecessary things you buy each day and give them up until Christmas. The cost of a Diet Coke here, a Curly Wurly there, a Starbucks each morning when you get off the train, and meat and potato pie every Chippy Friday soon mounts up. Before you know it you’ve spent a ton of cash that could have bought you something substantial instead.

Assess your transport situation

Transport costs are such a pain in the arse, but by reassessing how you get from A to B, you could save a ton of money. I live in Sale in South Manchester and work just on the edge of Manchester city centre. Most people in Sale would get the tram in each day as it’s supposedly meant to be quicker. But, with a month’s tram ticket costing around £70, I get the bus instead for £10.50 a week. The bus takes about half an hour longer each way, but considering the savings, I’d argue it’s definitely worth it.

If you have a car and drive everywhere, you might find it cheaper to get public transport for the next seven weeks. When you add up both petrol and parking costs, you might find that public transport is much cheaper.

Second hand Christmas

This one may not be for everybody, but it’s certainly a creative idea for those who love a challenge. If you’re sick and tired of receiving boring impersonalised gifts such as bath bombs or chocolate, why not get together with a group of friends or your other half and pledge to only buy gifts for each other that are second hand. Charity shops and car boot sales are where it’s at, and it’s surprising just how many quirky and unique things you can find there.

Maybe you’ll spot a record that your boyfriend will love, or a vintage dress for your sister. You may have to spend a few hours trawling through the racks until you find the perfect gift, but while everyone else is sweating in Topshop or elbowing each other in the Apple store, you’ll be blissfully gliding your way through the British Heart Foundation knowing that you’re saving money, lives and getting your favourite people something special.

A valuable lesson

Celebrating Christmas a day or two late may sound like the most depressing thing ever, but if you’re really strapped for cash, your money can go a lot further by buying everything in the sales. Instead of buying the kids an X Box or mobile phone for Christmas day, wrap up a nice card instead and in it explain that you’ll go shopping for it on Boxing Day so that they’ll get exactly what they want. You’ll save a ton of money by buying it in the sales, and you’ll teach the kids a valuable lesson about money.

Get creative

I recently saw a tweet from someone who suggested using children’s drawings as wrapping paper. She explained that it saves money and you’ll feel less bad about throwing it away. Why you’d be more precious over keeping wrapping paper than your children’s art work, I don’t know, but it’s a great idea anyway. If you wrap the grandparents’ gifts in paper covered in drawings by their favourite little people, they’ll probably keep them and put them on the fridge. Just lovely!

Have you got any more last minute money-saving tips for Christmas? If so, let me know 🙂