With the cost of living crisis in full force, it’s time to find new and creative ways of saving the pennies. At this tough time, many people will face struggles they have never experienced before. Therefore, it’s also time to help, where we can.
For a few months now, I’ve been on a mission to save as much money as I can when buying gifts for everyone. I’ve even got a spreadsheet to ensure I don’t overspend!
Here are my tips on how to find enjoyment in spending less this Christmas
1. Plan in advance
We’ve all been there. £7.00 delivery charge when you have two days before Christmas delivery dates end and you really need the item as a gift for someone. Because we are currently budgeting and trying to pay off bills which are slightly behind, I had to start shopping around for Christmas gifts early.
2. Buy second hand
You can find a lot of really great, new gifts on marketplaces like eBay. I’ve also bought some well-looked-after second-hand toys for my little one. She is three years old and to be honest, I don’t think any young child cares about packaging. They care about enjoyment, playing with toys and receiving love.
She will get a main present from us and be spoiled by our wider family. Therefore, the rest of the gifts will be affordable additions.
3. Reduce the overall budget for everyone
I don’t know about your family, but at a recent get-together, we ended up in chat about the cost of living. This year it is an unsaid thing that we will all be spending a little less on one another.
We will, of course, focus on the kids. And spending a little less on the adults will mean more money towards paying bills, enjoyment or giving something back.
5. Use hampers of gift boxes to house all gifts
I picked up this technique from social media. And I will be making up a hamper box for everyone in my family. Dressing the box up with amazing decorations and lovely items is something I am looking forward to. It has also allowed me to pick up smaller, affordable items for everyone. A great way to save money.
6. Give something back
It has become clear to me that Christmas isn’t all about money. Even though culture, consumerism and human beings have made it that way. Although we have our own financial ups and downs, I will be taking part in some of the charity drives to provide toys for those less fortunate. The money I save on spending less can go towards a great cause.
7. Ditch the unnessecery
My little one was looking at new Christmas decorations in Aldi the other day. I told her to put it back, as we have enough. My hubby & I spent years during our time as a couple, collecting special tree decorations and I know for a fact there are great decorations stuffed into storage boxes at home.
Final Thoughts
With everything we spend money on, I am now in the habit of thinking about whether there is an alternative. I strike a balance between still enjoying life, but also being thrifty in everything I do.
There is no way we can achieve our financial family goals if we keep spending money without thinking. It’s now time for us to buckle up, live a frugal life, and pay off the bills and debts we have. Then start achieving long-term goals, like buying a family home.
Have you changed the way you approach Christmas this year?
I would love to hear your money-saving tips – let me know in the comments below.
It is hard to balance spending money on unnecessary things with making a magical Christmas for your little ones. Thank you for these tips.
Maylee Robbins recently posted…CornerStone Duck Cloth Work Jacket (J763) Overview
It’s such a hard balance to find.
Completely agree with all of these tips to reduce your spending at Christmas! It’s always a good idea to get a lot of your Christmas shopping done as early as possible. And charity shops and online secondhand marketplaces are a GREAT option – I wish more people would do it!
I started early this year and I am planning on doing the same each year from now on. There are lots of cheaper options earlier on.
This is such a helpful post! I am all for saving money and these are such great tips! I know as a mother I love the idea of having a Gift box, to put all the gifts in. Sure wrapping is great but it’s just a lot of work and all that money put in to wrapping could have been another gift or just saving period. Each of my Girls has a Christmas bag with their gifts inside.
Planning in advance is one of the biggest things I preach about
I hated wrapping some gifts this year and the box/hamper option was definitely better. I will be shopping early each year from now on. It’s already on my calendar!
Yay, great tips! We need to normalise second hand gifts!
I love that it is becoming more of the norm. I loved second-hand shopping before Love Island made it trendy, haha!
These are some great suggestions on how you can make Christmas a little easier financially and reduce the amount of stress we can put on ourselves. Thank you for sharing.
Lauren.
Lauren recently posted…Meet My December Advertisers 2022
There is so much stress. And I really felt it this year. Maybe it was the pressure of ‘playing Santa’ but I’m exhausted.
These are great tips! I definitely need to plan ahead more because I think it would save me in so many ways.
It’s always great to plan ahead, with finances and expensive occasions.
Planning in advance and making sure that we don’t include anything that is unnecessary is great advice as this can be where we end up spending too much time/money getting caught up in it all. I also love the inclusion here of going secondhand — that is brilliant!
This year, I really tried to put the hard work in to buy appropriate gifts and spend less.
Great post with some great tips! Now more than ever, people are finding ways to have a more inexpensive Christmas. Just because it costs less, doesn’t make it any less special!
Jenny Marston (Jenny in Neverland) recently posted…5 Plans For My Future Guest Bedroom
I totally agree with this. And we need to normalise spending less.
Really timely post when people are trying to manage Christmas expense alongside the cost of living crisis. It’s easy to be drawn into buying things you really don’t need.
I agree. I hope this was a reminder to stop and think about it first.
Great advice! I love the idea of cutting back on the budget and putting that towards bills or giving back. Thanks for sharing these tips!
Her Digital Coffee recently posted…5 Easy Ways You Can Stay Organized this Christmas
Because we’ve struggled financially over the last few years, my mindset has totally changed. I now approach every money-spending endeavour like this.
Great tips! Thrift shops have amazing almost or new items in their stores as well, I’ve learned my boys that Christmas is about being with each other or with family. Not making it about the “gifts” so I’m happy about that!
I love finding a nearly new item. And that is a great lesson to teach your boys.
Some really good tips there. I started buying presents in the summer this year. Last year, I held off buying some until Black Friday, but the deals are really hit and miss so didn’t hang about this time. The Christmas decorations tip is such a good one, because they aren’t cheap and so many of us have ones that have hardly been used stored away.
I’ve already set a reminder to start buying early in 2023.
I agree, some of the Black Friday deals are not actually that great.
I refuse to buy new decorations. We’ve had the same tree decorations for six years and they are still lovely.
I love this so much! Especially the tip about not waiting til the last minute. I’m so bad at procrastinating that I usually end up in that situation and can attest to how annoying those extra costs are.
The additional postage costs can be ridiculous!
These are good tips, and I have completely finished Christmas shopping, so I do agree it is helpful to plan what you’re buying and start shopping early. Also, I have reduced what I spent on everybody and I bought only a few gifts for my daughter because her grandmother is going all out on gifts for her.
I thought the same this year – my little one gets gifts from other family members and we spent a lot less on her this year. And still had the same magical Christmas morning and lots of playtime afterwards.
Great tips! Getting rid of anything that isn’t actually necessary is a great tip, thank you for sharing xx
It’s great to actually spend some time thinking about what would be useful for someone. Instead of last-minute decisions and gifts, they might now even like.
I absolutely love these tips on how to enjoy a thrifty Christmas! Thanks so much for sharing them!
Thank you for reading x
Love these ideas, I have just one more present to buy! I have seen lots of great board games on eBay, which I love so might get one for the family x
I love a good board game and they make an amazing gift.
Yay!!! Shopping for Christmas stuffs at thrift stores can be fun. Thank you for sharing.
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It’s so much fun to find new items and cost-effective ways to give presents.
These are very helpful suggestions since everyone is worried about inflation and costs have risen dramatically. Thanks for sharing these. 🙂
I hope these tips will be useful for everyone. We need to do something until this situation corrects itself.