Anyone with a larger family knows that every penny counts and even more now than ever due to Covid and all of the economic stresses that this has put upon everyone. These certainly are bizarre times to be living in! It’s that time of year when the purse strings get pulled even tighter with Christmas coming up, eek! So below are some ways that you can save a few pennies, make a few pounds and create some Christmas smiles all without breaking the bank.
Black Friday Offers
When it comes to Christmas planning for my brood it literally starts January 1st! With so many people to consider we really do have to budget to make sure that everyone gets something nice on the Christmas day and no one feels left out. On top of budgeting throughout the year, my partner and I also get our ‘bigger gifts’ over the Black Friday Weekend as that is when there are the best deals especially when it comes to tech items. It’s also a great time to invest in larger household purchases such as sofas or white goods, which as we know, can hit the purse strings hard.
Reuse, Refurbished and Recycle
As mentioned above, the annual Black Friday Sale is certainly when many of us will be rushing to buy new items, which means, what about the old ones? giffgaff has been asking everyone to ‘Check their Drawers’ this year – and not in the way that you think. They are asking that we all check our old tech drawers (We all have one, mine is currently full of wires to which I have no idea what device they connect too) and to recycle their unused and unwanted phones so that they can get a second life rather than end up in a landfill. Even better, you can get cash to spend on other parts of Christmas whilst decluttering. Nice.
The recycling doesn’t end there, sites such a thred up can help you resell your old items of clothing and earn a few pennies whilst you are at it. Certainly makes life easier if your children grow as fast as mine!
The Christmas countdown
I have done this for years and it always makes everything so much easier near the Christmas period – from November onwards at every weekly shop I buy a few extra items for my ’Christmas Box’. These are items with longer sell by dates so I know that they will keep such as gravy granules, stuffing mix and dont forget the sweet treats. This allows me to stock up well in advance and to not have a massive Christmas Week shop to pay for, which as we all know hurts alot! It also frees up head space at the final Christmas shop as all I need to grab are the fresh items so I am literally in and out of the shops in just a few hours rather than on a man hunt for an item that the supermarket had run out etc. I also use items such as loyalty cards so I can earn points and spend them at Christmas to really help with finances come January.
Looking for other ways to save money, check out 9 Savings Challenges you can try in 2023
Do you have any top tips of budgeting for Christmas and beyond? If so let me know below or continue the conversation over on my social channels.
Wow, some really good ideas here. Certainly going to be checking my drawers! x