Time to start saving for Christmas

THE last few months may have been dominated by the global Covid-19 pandemic, but Christmas will nevertheless soon be with us.

Just how we will be able to celebrate it remains uncertain at the moment, but whatever the outcome it is still likely to put a strain on most household budgets.

Below Kevin Mountford, co-founder of savings platform Raisin UK, gives his tips on how you can start saving for the festive period with with fewer than three months left.

1. Split it over paydays. A typical household spends an extra £800 a month during December, and with most people only having two (or maybe three) paydays left, and splitting the cost may ease the financial pressure more than you think. If you set a budget and look to split this over your remaining paydays, you may not feel the burden as much just before Christmas. For example, taking £50 out of your pay packet for the next three months is an easy £150 to put aside for presents.

If this isn't enough, look more towards the future. Every month set aside £50 for 11 months, which means you will have an extra £550 for Christmas in 2021. Less stress.

2. Save on food cost. We’ve all been there, the Christmas Eve food panic – but think about what you’ll need in advance, have a shop around, and see which supermarkets are doing the best value products. Items with a longer shelf-life such as Christmas chocolate and mince pies actually are far cheaper in the run-up to Christmas, so get buying now if you can – you could save more than you think and be prepped for those after-dinner snacks!

You could also use gift cards or shop around for discounts when it comes to food and drink – we know that the alcohol side of things can rack up the price of Christmas itself – but with so many discounts and offers out there at the moment, it would be silly to not use them.

3. Try microsaving. Even with fewer than three months to go, you can still use micro saving techniques to save that extra bit of cash in time for Christmas. If you’re a fan of your high-street coffees, and festive favourites when it comes to Christmas sandwiches, at £5 a day that racks up almost £500! By taking lunch to work and not impulse buying, you can put a wedge of money aside in order to pay for priorities in the run up to Christmas.

4. Regifting. Controversial or not, there’s nothing wrong with regifting presents if money is tight this year. Having a sort out and finding things that would be good to regift could save you buying those last-minute corner shop gifts for your partner’s workmates, or your second cousin's third cousin. If you can keep things aside throughout the year for this – you’ll save on excess when it comes to Christmas!

5. Reassess your usual Christmas spends. Unfortunately, this year it looks like that new Christmas party dress and a trip to Winter Wonderland is off the cards. Think about how much you usually would have budgeted for these events, and put it away in an account either to put towards gifts or food or just to save – you’d be surprised how much we spend in the run-up to Christmas as well as the big day itself.

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