Easy ways to cut your Christmas spending this year
Christmas shopping can easily put Aussies under financial strain. But there are several simple tricks that can help you reduce the costs. SEE OUR EXPERT TIPS
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Completing my Christmas shopping list is a goal I try and knock over before December 1 every year.
I dread hitting the stores in the remaining weeks before Christmas when panic-stricken shoppers are making a mad dash through the aisles to buy any crap they can get their hands on.
We’ve only got four weeks to go until December 25, and these are five cost-cutting measures I adopt every year to avoid blowing the budget:
1. MAXIMISE SALES
I’m counting down to Black Friday and Cyber Monday which both fall within the next week.
We know retailers are feeling the pinch this year and they’ll be hoping we let the moths out of wallets on these much-hyped discount days.
If you want to save yourself some serious bucks I suggest pouncing at these sales. It’s likely to be your last decent chance to snare presents with a nice discounted price tag attached.
2. LIMIT PRESENT LISTS
There’s no need to buy crappy gifts for every Tom, Dick and Harry you know.
Chances are those token presents will be rubbish they throw in the back of their cupboard anyway.
I pen out a gift list every year and for some of my mates we’ve mutually agreed to ditch buying presents for each other, which reduces everyone’s costs.
It’s a win, win.
I believe Christmas is for kids anyway. Nothing beats seeing them smile on Christmas Day when you give them an awesome gift.
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3. PAY FOR IT NOW, NOT LATER
Why roll into the new year laden with debt?
No-one feels good when they owe money on their credit card and worse still, for stuff they can’t even remember buying for other people.
I always stick to the strategy of spending using debit. Otherwise it means I simply cannot afford it.
Putting purchases on a credit card or using buy now, pay later schemes like Afterpay and Zip Pay are delaying the inevitable.
And it only gets worse if you are hit with fees and interest charges if you cannot meet the strict repayment criteria on these credit products.
4. USE A SAVINGS ACCOUNT
If you’re organised enough to have set up a separate bank account for Christmas expenditure, you enter December without being financially stressed out.
I have a separate account set up just for Christmas spending and automatically tip in $30 per week each time I get paid.
So over 12 months I save up $1560 - a massive help at this time of year.
5. SALES TACTICS
Be wary that retailers are hoping you will spend more than you planned, whether it’s online or in their bricks and mortar stores.
Those deals where you have to spend over a certain threshold, for example spend $150 and get $50 off, can be very useful. But if you only planned to get this discount by spending more, you’re probably wasting your money.
Happy Christmas shopping!