Presented by KIS Finance
Buy frozen food for Christmas dinner to help spread the cost and take away some of the pressure of buying it all in the shops fresh last minute. Buy and freeze bread rolls for boxing day sandwiches, and start buying things like alcohol and Christmas cake ingredients. You’ll be glad in December!
Try to be strict with your budget. Decide what to buy everyone and stick to the list. Hasty purchases and adding ‘little gifts’ you see when you are out shopping quickly add up!
Consider buying toys for your children second hand. Give them a clean and make sure they’ve got batteries in and children won’t mind their gifts aren’t brand new. Last year I decided I didn’t want to spend all morning on Christmas day taking toys out of packaging and looking for screw drivers and batteries so did all of that before wrapping them. When he opened his gifts they were ready to play with – and there was less rubbish to pick up before guests arrived. It occurred to me whilst I was wrapping that I could have brought it all second hand since I was binning the packaging before he even saw it!
Instead of serving wine when family and friends come over, get some jugs out and make sangria and mulled wine. Adding lemonade and orange juice will make the alcohol go further.It will also disguise cheaper wines and no need to fork out for branded soft drinks.
Make the most of supermarket savings schemes. For example, ASDA have a card you can load money onto to use nearer Christmas. If you add £144 onto a card, they’ll add an extra £6 on for you.
Send Christmas cards early, so you can use second class stamps.
Save money on Christmassy chocolate by making your own treats. Try ‘Snowman soup’ – a cellophane cone filled with hot chocolate powder, mini marshmallows and chocolate chips. Be as creative as you like! Edible glitter adds a nice festive sparkle too.
Write ‘promise cheques’ for family or friends – this could be a sleepover for children, volunteering yourself as a babysitter for the night for a friend or a back massage for a partner.
Buy a live potted Christmas tree – you can bring it in every year to decorate and simply put it outside again for the rest of the year. This is cheaper than buying a cut tree and throwing it away every year.
Don’t buy batteries at the checkout when purchasing gifts – these often work out to be more expensive. Work out which ones you need and buy these as a discount shop.
Find it useful? Please share!
Find it useful? Please share!
Last updated: 10 June 2022 | © KIS Bridging Loans 2024 | Terms & Conditions
