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Save Money At Christmas
There’s no denying the cost of living crisis in the UK right now has hit us all hard – so saving money is a must and there is ways to help you to cut the cost of Christmas in half.
Christmas can be a particularly expensive time of year, so if you’re looking to spend less whilst still keeping the magic of Christmas alive, these 30 easy-to-do money saving tips will help you on your way…
1 – Re-Gift
If you have gifts given to you (or maybe even lying around from last year) that you don’t like or need, why not give them to someone else?
As long as they are in new condition…how would they know? Not only does this save money but it saves on shopping and unnecessary landfill, win-win.
2 – Set a Strict Christmas Budget
Though this option does seem obvious, it is important to make sure you understand what resources you have at hand and what you still need to account for.
So set a budget and stick to it as budgeting allows you to control what you spend.
3 – Sell Unused Gifts
If you don’t want to re-gift unwanted gifts, or you have high value items, why not sell them to make cash.
We all have those gifts each year that end up gathering dust in a cupboard, you could sell these to free up cash to spend on things you really need for Christmas.
4 – Buy Second Hand
You can get loads of good-quality used bargains at car boot sales, Facebook selling groups and sites such as eBay. This can save a fortune on the cost of gifts.
5 – Gift Precious Memories
Do you have a beloved teddy bear or maybe an old piece of jewellery? These types of gifts don’t have to be valuable, just have some type of family meaning.
Passing a gift down to children or grandchildren can both keep the costs down and be a wonderful family heirloom.
6 – Hand-made Gifts
Do you have any crafting skills? Or would like to learn a new one? You can make some gorgeous handmade Christmas gifts such as textiles, soaps, knitted toys and more.
Making presents keeps the cost down, as well as offering a personal touch to gifting.
If you have kids, you can get them involved too doubling it up as a wonderful Christmas activity.
7 – Recycle Gift Wrap, Bags & Boxes
Often when we receive gifts, we will have perfectly reusable wrapping paper, gift bags and boxes left over. Keep these throughout the year and use them to wrap your gifts. Recycling keeps costs down and also reduces waste.
8 – Purchase Gift Cards
At various times through November and December Amazon and Supermarkets such as Asda and Tesco have discounts on gift cards of up to 25%.
This is perfect if the shops you intend to purchase from are included in the offer.
9 – Use Vouchers & Coupons
Never buy anything online without searching for a voucher code first. And remember to clip all coupons from free magazines and newspapers you might have lying about too.
This can reduce costs on gifts and Christmas food.
10 – Don’t Buy Gifts
Do you REALLY need to buy gifts for all your aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, dogs and so on…
If you explain to friends and family you want to start a new rule of no buying for each other, you will be surprised who else will jump at the idea. Gift buying can get out of hand for everyone.
11- Create a List & Stick to it
When planning your Christmas, it’s important to create a list of gifts that fit into your budget.
Once this list is created, you need to keep track of what you have purchased and how much you have spent, so that you don’t end up running over budget.
Check out our free, printable Christmas Gift List Planner
12 – Utilise Store Loyalty Cards
Very often these days, the best deals at most major supermarkets and retailers are locked behind their loyalty schemes.
It’s free to sign up to 99% of them and can save you £100s a year, so it’s a no-brainer.
13 – Plan your Christmas Meals
Planning what you are going to eat and how much you need to see you over the festive period can save you a lot of money in a few different ways.
- Not overcooking
- Reduce food waste
- Save on energy costs
- Allow you to buy the cheaper brands ahead of schedule as these tend to sell out the closer to Christmas you leave it
14 – Ditch Fresh Turkey
I know people say it’s not Christmas time without a Turkey, but they can be quite costly. Would your family really know the difference between a Chicken and a Turkey? Some even prefer Chicken.
If you do prefer the traditional turkey, you can save almost half the price by purchasing a frozen Turkey over a fresh one.
15 – Cut Delivery Costs
Before purchasing anything online, check the delivery costs. If something is the same price at a retailer that offers free delivery, that can save between £3 – £5 per order which will certainly add up.
You can even opt for Click and Collect as a free option if suitable. If you live relatively close to the collection location, it is usually cheaper to go there yourself and just collect it.
16 – Spread The Cost
Christmas is expensive, so it’s best to start saving as soon as you can. I always start in January.
This stops me from cracking out the credit cards and using BNPL schemes which can end up getting you into debt and spiralling the true costs of items out of control if payments are missed.
17 – Keep Waste to a Minimum
In my own experience, the single biggest way that we can save money – regardless of the time of year – is to simply keep waste to a minimum.
Being aware of what you have so that you don’t duplicate perishable supplies is the first big step in this process. Additionally, being aware of what you are using and how likely you are to use more before it perishes is vital. It is a balancing game.
18 – Presence over Presents
Arguably the easiest way to save money is to actually give people your time instead. Invite your family or friends over for a meal or a night in with a bottle of wine.
If it’s with young kids arrange a Christmas Games night, most people would take spending time with a loved one over gifts.
19 – Use the Leftovers
Three words….Bubble and Squeak!
Save money and radically reduce your food waste by making use of the Christmas leftovers. For instance, all that wonderful meat you have on a plate in your fridge can be used to make a tasty home-made turkey curry.
20 – Shop Early
You can save an absolute fortune by not leaving everything last minute, You can pick up yellow stickered foods that are suitable for freezing up to 6 months in advance.
For gifts, you can take advantage of all year-round bargains that you find.
21 – Purchase out of Season
You can get new decorations, crackers and gift wrap in January when most supermarkets reduce the costs by up to 80%, which you can then store for the following year.
22 – Shop Online
Buy Shopping online you can search through more available stores enabling you to find the cheapest price of an item.
You can find all the best online deals on our website here or over on our Facebook page Christmas Countdown UK
23 – Get Discounts at Outlet Stores
Most big-name stores such as Next, Schuh and Clarkes have outlet stores online and in shopping centres. Here you can get all your big brand favourites for less.
23 – Get Cashback
Never buy anything online without seeing if you can get cashback via Quidco or Topcashback.
I make £100s per year through these which I then cash out in November to use on Christmas gifts.
24 – Combine Your Savings
If you shop early, shop online to find the best price, find a voucher code and also opt for free delivery (or click & collect) as well as going through a cashback website you can make a quadruple whammy of savings!
25 – Secret Santa
Probably one of the best ways to reduce the cost of gift giving during the holidays is to arrange a secret santa.
You can add a price cap and you only have to buy one gift. It is also a great way to show how much you care by getting meaningful gifts.
Did you know you can get a FREE letter from Santa every year?
26 – Follow Bargain Hunters on Social Media
Aside from our page we have a group over on facebook, we also have Twitter and Instagram but whatever your favourite social media site, you need to seek out a few deal pages and get them in your feed.
This way you will have access to year-round deals so that you can bag the best bargains early.
27 – Choose a Budget Supermarket
Gone are the days of being embarrassed to shop at Aldi. In fact, Aldi has consistently been voted the cheapest supermarket by which! for years and bargain shoppers can’t get enough of it.
Try it out and see how much you can save on your shopping.
28 – Budget Christmas Dinner
As well as swapping your turkey for chicken or fresh to frozen, there are loads of other ways to slash the costs of your Christmas lunch.
At the end of December (usually around the 15th) Supermarkets seriously reduce the price of their vegetables where we see bags of veg reduced from 15 – 20p per pack. And if you don’t mind peeling, this can save a fortune.
29 – Get Festive Freebies
People are always getting rid of good quality used items, there are now reuse groups in most UK towns on Facebook where you can get rid of and pick up some fabulous items.
I have seen many gorgeous Christmas trees being given away, so if you need something new, why not try to get it for free?
30 – Find Free Christmas Festivities
From free online Christmas Quizzes to days out and festive nights in, there are 100s of ways to make the build-up to Christmas fun, without costing a fortune. Try to check off some of these on our Christmas Bucket List.
Try this Free Christmas Lights Scavenger Hunt
We hope these money-saving tips have helped you on your way to a low-cost Christmas. If you have any questions, comments or other ways to save that you think we should add to this list, please let us know in the comments below…
