Here are our tips to save up for Christmas gifts — plus win £5K to pay off your bills
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WITH ten weeks until Christmas Day, we need to save £45 a week to cover the average festive spend of £452.41.
If you have kids, that seasonal splurge is £589.28, a study from Halifax reports, while one in ten of us admit paying out more than £1,000 and one in five plan to fork out more this year than last.
Giles Martin, head of savings at Halifax, said: “To avoid a bill shock, it’s worth starting to save now, to spread out the cost.”
Here are the Halifax’s top seven seasonal tips.
- Start early. If you put aside money every week, it will soon add up and will help spread the cost of Christmas.
- Set a budget. Having a savings goal to aim towards can help motivate you to reach your target. List absolutely everything you need to budget for — such as Christmas cards, gifts, food, crackers, trees, decorations — to work out a realistic cost and set a budget.
- Decide where to put your savings. A savings jar is a good start for small amounts as you can see it grow. Once it builds up, it is worth considering putting it in a savings account.
- Make small cutbacks elsewhere. Try foregoing your daily coffee, for example. If you save £3 a day by having one less coffee, that’s more than £200 saved between now and Christmas.
- Be frugal. It pays off to start thinking about next year’s Christmas early. The January sales are a good opportunity to get next year’s gifts at a big discount. Remember to check out big sales days like Black Friday too.
- Spend sensibly. Sit down with close family members and agree a reasonable price limit for gifts to avoid the temptation to splash out.
- Consider a Secret Santa. That way, you only need to buy one present for your Secret Santa rather than many presents for everyone you spend Christmas Day with.
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Go meat-free to save on food bill
JORDAN BALE from Manchester says: “Commit to lowering your food bill by just £5 a week. It’s easiest it you cut down on meat or drinks, then you’ve saved £260 at the end of the year.”
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