How Not to Go Over Budget this Christmas

Christmas is only a few weeks away now. Once you have your budget pinned down after spending some time here, you’re good to go!

What you don’t want to do, however, is to ruin it all by spending too much and then putting up with January and February watching the pennies and eating cheap food (although it would help with the diet!). It is much better to stay within your budget to avoid a New Year hangover, so here’s how not to go over budget this Christmas – and save a bit in the process.

Look at your loyalty cards

If you’re a loyalty card fan, then you might have quite a bit stashed away between them, so look at the points balance on each and see what you can manage to get together. If you spend cleverly, you could bump up your balances with some special offers and promotions so that you can bag a few last-minute gifts for essentially nothing! Something I did with my Boots Advantage card recently.

Share out the love sensibly

You simply can’t spend the same amounts of money on everyone. For example, you can’t be expected to spend as much on your next-door-neighbour-but two as you do on your cousin. Your closest friends and relatives get the most money and attention lavished upon them and then everyone in the outer circles gets that little bit less. In practice, this means that when you get to the teachers presents, you’re looking at brownie mixes in jars.

Use your credit card wisely

Do your absolute best to only use the money that you have to hand; the money that is actually yours, not the bank’s or the credit card company’s. Using credit means that you’ll actually be spending money to spend money because of the interest. Having a good Christmas is great, but you really shouldn’t be paying for it in May and June! It means you’ll only have a few months until you need to start spending on the next Christmas! If you do have to use your credit card for some of your Christmas shopping, keep it to a limit and use it on something for yourself and your family. By making the purchase with your credit card, you’re also buying extra cover.

Leave a few shopping cards at the checkout

It’s great doing your shopping online, because you just go through a few clicks and then, voila! There are all your presents on your doorstep the next day! Hold your horses, though, because by delaying the completion you can save some money. If you leave your shopping cart at the checkout then some retailers will email you a few days later to offer you an extra incentive. These incentives almost always come in the form of a decent discount – 10% or so, free shipping, or a handy freebie. Just be patient and good things will come your way.

Take time to look for vouchers

If you can get into the routine of searching out vouchers and discounts before hitting up your favourite online retailers – and for printable vouchers for physical stores – then you’ll manage to shave off a few pounds from your overall bill. It only takes a few seconds, so it’s a great return for your efforts. Sites like Swagbucks also offer you points in exchange for vouchers later on – this will help save on birthday presents throughout the following year.

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This is a collaborative post.