Everyone wants to save money at Christmas, but the problem is that not many people want to cut back when buying presents for their friends and family. This is completely understandable because at the end of the day, Christmas is a fantastic time for you to show people how much you love them. It can also be fun to go out and do your Christmas shopping as well, but luckily there are a few things that you can do to make all this possible without breaking the bank.
Cashback Credit Card
A cashback credit card ultimately means that every purchase you make, gives you money back. This will make your shopping way cheaper and you don’t even have to spend time looking up discount codes and vouchers either. If you want to stay on top of your finances, then you need to make sure that you are paying it back every single month. The best way for you to do this would be for you to set up a direct debit. If you don’t then you could be facing interest rates up to 23%, and this is the last thing you need with the festive season being right around the corner.
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Buy Online
Nothing quite compares to going out to the Christmas market, and this is especially the case when the lights and decorations are all up. You can however save a ton of money by shopping online. The main reason for this is because when you do shop online, you can avoid making impulse buys and you can also find the products you need at a much cheaper price. As if that wasn’t enough, you can also keep an eye out for discount codes and vouchers too. If you want to get the best result out of your online shop, then make sure that you go to the actual store’s website rather than an outlet.
Don’t be Snobby
It’s a great feeling to take pride in the presents that you are buying. You should never feel like you are going to be judged entirely on the price tag of the product you are giving however. In fact, some of the best gifts are often homemade and very thoughtful. There are so many options available if you want to try this for yourself, including homemade brownies, jam and other festive goodies. You never know, you might end up setting a family tradition and this can really save money for the future as well.
Book Train Tickets in Advance
If you are travelling for Christmas then it is more than possible for you to save money on transportation. This is especially the case if you are travelling via train. If you book your tickets 12 weeks in advance, you will see the prices drop significantly. A lot of train services bump up the prices around the festive period because they know that a lot of people will be travelling at this time, so it helps to look into this. You may even want to look into a rail card as well, as this could save you even more money if you qualify for a discount rate.
Use a Loyalty Card
A lot of people don’t think that loyalty cards are worth it. The main reason for this is because they use their points every single week and they don’t save much money as a result. If you were to save money throughout the year however then you could easily build up your vouchers. When you do this, you can use them all at once at Christmas and this can really help you to save a ton of money. It doesn’t matter whether you use it for gifts, or whether you use it to do some Christmas shopping because it’s a great tip that can make a huge difference.
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Don’t Overbuy Food
Sure, you may love a Christmas turkey and it may also be nice for you to have a turkey sandwich on boxing day as well, but it is more than possible for you to overbuy food at Christmas and if you are not careful it can really put a dent in your budget. If you want to get around this then you need to work out how many people you are having, and how much each person is likely to have. When you have done this, add a little bit extra on top to let people have a second serving. Anything extra than this, you don’t need at all. When you follow this method, you can have way less waste and you can also feel confident knowing that you are saving money too.
Stay Organised
When it comes to Christmas, you need to stay organised. You also need to make sure that you know who you need to buy for as well. When you have this information, it then helps to plan out what you are going to buy and the price you are looking to spend. When you are able to do this, you can then stop yourself from overspending and you can also work out exactly how much your gifts are going to come to. When you have an idea of the price you want to spend, you can also try and save money by looking out for deals that might make it cheaper.
Get a Loan
If you know that you are going to really struggle over Christmas then it may be a good idea for you to try and get a loan. When you do this, you can pay it off over time and there are even bad credit personal loans at OnlineCash4Payday®. Of course, this is a great option if you are unable to get a credit card and you’d be surprised at how helpful it can be when the festive season comes along.
Brave Black Friday
Sure, the mere thought of Black Friday is probably enough to give you a ton of anxiety. You have people fighting over televisions and you also have terrifying scenes as well. If you are brave enough to battle the crowds, you can save a ton of money by shopping on this day. This is especially the case if you know who you are buying for and even how much you are planning on spending. If you need to buy technology then this is easily the best date for you to shop on so do keep that in mind. If you don’t find anything on Black Friday, then you always have Cyber Monday.
Start Your Shopping Now
If you can, you should always start your shopping as early as possible. You can buy a few things every single week and you can also stay on top of things financially. You can get things done bit by bit and this can work wonders for your stress levels. As mentioned above, if you are able to break everything down then this can really help you to get everyone done without having to worry about spending too much and you would really be surprised at how much this can help you to save.
Of course, Christmas shopping isn’t easy to say the least and this is especially the case if you have so many people to buy for. If you want to save money then the above tips should really help you out. On top of this, they can also help you to reduce your stress levels by a significant amount so you can make the whole thing much easier on yourself and your family.
Tammie~