Ways to cut back this Christmas
The festive season is nearly upon us, and while most of us will be looking forward to a relaxing time with friends and family, a lot of us will also be worried about the financial impact.
It`s possibly the most expensive time of the year - but it doesn`t have to be as expensive as you may think. Here are a few quick tips for cutting back over the festive season.
Take advantage of special offers
With retailers expecting their busiest season in terms of sales, they`ll be pulling out all the stops to attract more customers. To your benefit, this will include a lot of cut-price offers - but think carefully about the offer before you make a purchase.
If you`re trying to save money, the number one rule with Christmas shopping is to only buy what you set out to buy, unless there is a reasonable (cheaper) alternative. So, while a buy-one-get-one-free offer may be good value for money on items you already want, they can also tempt some people to spend money that they otherwise wouldn`t spend.
Take extra care with offers like `3 for £2.50`. For example, if each individual item cost £1.50, you`d be making a £2 saving - but if the individual item cost 95p, you`d only be saving 35p, in which case it would probably only be worthwhile if you had set out to buy all three items in the first place.
In short, when it comes to special offers, it pays to do the maths - but the right offers can save you a lot of money in the long run.
Use vouchers
In a similar way to special offers, retailers often use vouchers to encourage shoppers to buy their products.
Use vouchers wisely and you can save more money than you may realise. Moneysupermarket.com recently found that the UK population redeems 2.23 million discount vouchers every day, saving people an average of £56.51 a month.
You`ll find vouchers in magazines, newspapers and leaflets posted through your door. You may also have access to more vouchers if you join a supermarket`s loyalty scheme.
Also remember that not all vouchers come in paper form - you should search online for voucher codes websites, which give you codes for money off at a wide range of online retailers.
Buy late (sometimes)
Although it may go against some people`s instincts, leaving some of your Christmas shopping until the last minute can save you money. It`s reasonable to assume that things like electronics, CDs, games, etc. won`t change much in price until at least after Christmas, but seasonal things like food and decorations can drop sharply in price in the run-up to the 25th of December.
However, if you`re going to do this, make sure you`ve budgeted properly for the occasion - leaving it until the last minute without putting enough money aside could land you with a big bill that you`ll struggle to pay.