With Christmas being less than 2 months away, it’s getting the the time where people start to panic buy, put purchases on credit cards and figure out how they’re going to pay for a Christmas they maybe cannot afford. There is still loads of time save some money so here are some last minute penny pinching ideas for Christmas!
Loyalty Cards
I have a Sainsbury’s Nectar card which I use on a daily basis. We live across the road from Sainsbury’s so this is where I do all of my shopping. I try to save my points up all year so I have a bit to spend over the Christmas period.
If you have children it’s worth saving them up for the annual up to 50% off toy sale which is always in October. I had spent some of mine earlier in the year but I still had £35 worth during this event. I managed to get a supermarket play set, 2 sets of Play-Doh and some Peppa Pig cards along with the food/ drink I also bought and only paid £1.27 thanks to being able to use my points.
Obviously this event is now over but you still have loads of time to use your points towards food when it’s on offer and there is also usually some good deals on champagne on the run up to Christmas. This could save you loads of money if you have enough points to pay towards your final bill!
Shop Around
Not many people go out shopping now without their mobile phones and they can come in really handy for checking prices. I always like to double check a price and compare it with Amazon. You can obviously check on more websites too but it becomes a bit of a pain if you try to do too many when you’re out and about.
If you’re shopping online, it’s so simple to cross check your prices and find the best deal for the product you’re looking for. Some websites may offer free shipping, a discount code for signing up to their newsletter or even for your first order. Sometimes these can be 20%+ off and it can make a massive difference to the final price you pay.
Earn Money Online
It’s never too late to learn how to make a bit of extra cash online. I have been making extra money all year round for years and years now and there are so many ways to bump up your income. If you have a bit of spare time each week there are plenty of survey sites to sign up to, you can earn money for searching the web, enter competitions or even have a little flutter on a bingo site (gamble responsibly). You may only make a little bit on each website but they all do really add up. Some people start in January and save up all year and this can end up paying for Christmas, depending on the time you put in!
Ignore The Pressure
I think a lot of us, me included, sometimes feel the pressure to buy more than we need to over Christmas.
Last year I went a bit mad on food and drink to have in the house and there was only me, John and Erin. We could have had a normal roast dinner and not bothered with anything else. Erin certainly didn’t care. If you’re hosting Christmas this year it would be a good idea to ask everyone what meat they like or what 3-4 veggies they would prefer. This way, you can spend less by not buying what people aren’t actually bothered about eating.
Another kind of pressure I personally feel sometimes is to buy more presents than I need to. It’s really not important how many presents you give or receive but the thought behind them. I know I would much rather have one meaningful gift that has had thought put into it rather than a bag full of presents.
De-Clutter And Make Some Money
I’m a huge fan of making the most of my local Facebook sites. I’m a member of at least 15 and I list things on a weekly basis. Now is the time to have a good de-clutter or toy cull before Christmas and make some money while also clearing space for the new things you’ll be getting soon! I am planning on clearing out one of Erin’s toy storage units pretty soon and getting everything listed over the space of a couple of weeks.
eBay is also a great way of selling some of your unwanted items and some areas do very well on Gumtree! There is a way to sell your unwanted items no matter where you are!
There are loads of ways to save some money on the run up to Christmas and hopefully these help. Do let me know of ways you like to save in the comments!
