10 Ways To Save The Pennies This Christmas

Christmas can be an expensive time of year but it does not have to break the bank. This year we are trying to save money because we are actually looking to purchase a house our first family home next year so of course at them moment every pound matters because we know getting the deposit and then all of the other hidden costs is going to cost a fortune.

This year we have set budgets for people so that we do not go crazy when we are shopping and spend way to much money. We are lucky and do not have a lot of people to buy for I think in total it is around 10. However, anyone who has a toddler knows that you can blow your budget just thinking about it because you want to make them have a great time and toys other things such as clothing you want them to dress in are not cheap. So today I am going to share with you ways that we are trying to save the pennies this Christmas.

- The first tip I would say is set a budget we have done this for example we have different budgets for different people with people like our parents having a higher budget than my brother. Having a budget means that you are less likely to end up spending more than you planned.

- Don't be afraid to shop early if like us you see something which you know is going to be perfect for someone and it is discounted maybe in August pick it up make a note of what you have purchased though so you do not end up having too much for one person. This is what I did with Jess's book advent calendar I made it when the works had their 10 books for £10 offer.

-  Shop around the amount of times I think I have found a really good deal to only find that it is actually cheaper on amazon than it is in the store advertising the discount. I always check if the item is not one on the cheap side the price on Amazon and even have been know to do it in store because I have the app on my phone.

- Shopping online google discount codes valid for that shop sometimes you can get as much as 20% off and sometime free delivery which is always handy because all them £3.95 delivery fees add up and could nearly be a budget for a person. While on this topic if there is an option of free click and collect to store rather than paying the deliver fees why not do this. I have done it in a number of stores including Sainsbury & Next.

- Cashback sites such as Quidco and Topcashback can be your best friend recently when renewing the car insurance I used this site and managed to get £29 back by going through this site and on a recent  Christmas present I managed to get a couple of pound back on a purchase. Every little bit helps I am trying to remember to do this throughout the year.

- If you are purchasing experience days do not go straight to Virgin Experiences shop around for example last year I purchased a fast car experience day I actually managed to save over £100 by shopping around so it is worth checking sites such as Buyagift, Wowcher, Groupon & Travelzoo all of which I have used and would recommend.

- Need things such as small socking fillers head to places such as B&M, Home Bargains, Pound stretcher & TkMaxx they have a fantastic selection of things which are not too expensive for example I know  you can get things such as sweets for a fraction of the price in their I have been known to purchase them before. Sometime you can get gift sets for a fraction of the price of Boots and Superdrug so it is always worth checking out.

- Something which I have been known to do in the past is trawl eBay sometimes you can get unwanted gifts for a fraction of the price I have done this for people's birthday's in the past. I have also purchased clothing which can be only worn at occasions such as Christmas which has been hardly worn I have found this is a good way to be able to get items such as Christmas Jumper's for Jess. Don't forget you can also sell your unwanted items and make some cash I know this is what I will be doing with some of Jess's old festive outfits.

- Use Loyalty cards last year I has purchased Jess a car seat from Boots which meant that I got a shed load of points.I actually saved them and used them at Christmas when I needed to purchase some gifts from there I think in the end I got around £70 worth of gifts for around £7 which is amazing and I did not do anything. Boots was the cheapest place to purchase the car seat and I got the gifts as a result. This year I haven't shopped in Boots as much so will not be able to replicate that crazy amount but even if you just have £5 worth of points its always worth cashing them in during the festive season.

- Looking to purchase a gift card try purchasing them off Zeek which a website that is the main marketplace for giftcards either buying or selling. People sell them as they are from stores which people do not end up using so it means that you can get them sometimes for as much as 20% off. You could use them to purchase gifts or give them too people as gifts as long as you know they may not have that long left on them.

What are your top tips to saving money this festive season?


Charlotte x
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