Annie
1st Nov 2024
Reading Time:
6
minutes
Christmas is only a few weeks away and for many of us, we’re feeling like we have left it too late to afford the Christmas we want. But don’t fret! We’ve come up with ways you can save on other things you spend in the next few weeks, and dedicate those savings to different festive pots to make sure you have a ‘free’ Christmas that doesn’t cost anything on top of your saved spending.
Save £100 for a Christmas Event
Save £150 for That Special Gift
Save £200 for Decorations and Incidentals
Save £80 for Christmas Dinner
Switching up your grocery shop for the next few weeks is all it takes to save for The Big Shop around December 22nd. You know which shop we mean: the one where you get up at the crack of dawn to get your pre-ordered turkey, then brave the supermarket for the final fresh food for Christmas week, throwing extra chocolates in the trolley for surprise guests.
At the time of writing, it’s eight weeks to Christmas. All you need to do is save £10 a week on your grocery shopping to save £80 to spend on Christmas dinner. If Christmas is closer when you read this, these tips will still help you save what you need. You can even feed six people on under £30, so there’s plenty of ways to save!
First of all, we’re in the time of deals. The shelves will be bursting with Buy One Get One Free deals or similar discounts. For your bulk or pantry items, stuff you know you’re going to use, take advantage of these offers. If there’s something on offer that you don’t need two of, ask a friend if they need the other one and go halves on the price.
Switch to own brands, too. This can save a large chunk of cash each shop – and these days it’s often hard to tell the difference between own brand and branded food. You can also switch grocery store, too – Lidl and Aldi are the cheapest supermarkets overall.
Finally, sign up to loyalty schemes while there’s time to save. Some shops, like Morrisons, let you earn points on your shop to convert to £5 increments of Morrisons vouchers. This can save you a massive chunk of cash by the time the big shop comes around – just remember to convert your points on the app a few days before you shop, to make sure it works at the till.
Save £50 for Work Dinner and Drinks
Even if your workplace has organised a Christmas party of its own, you’re bound to be invited to a team dinner or drinks ‘just us lot’. You know, the colleagues you actually like.
In the weeks running up to Christmas, ditch the takeaway cups for your morning Costa coffee. Use a reusable thermal mug and save 50p each time – if you get a coffee each day, that’s a saving of £2.50 a week so an easy £15 is saved before Christmas. Of course, you could save more by skipping the morning coffee and taking your own in a thermal mug from home – saving around £15 a week if you normally buy one every day, or £120 in the eight weeks to Christmas. If you want to compromise, buying three coffees (with a reusable mug) instead of five each week will still save you about £50.
Save £100 for a Christmas Event
Seeing friends is one of the best parts of the holiday season. Everyone is in good spirits and it’s a great time to catch up with people as many will have time off work. To get a free Christmas, this is one of the best areas to save money, too.
The best way to save, first of all, is to arrange to see everyone on the same day. If you have a group of friends, arrange a get together where you go for a dinner, or meet at a friend’s house for a potluck event. This gets your main socialising done in one go, with one expense of food, drink, and travel. You also don’t need to do something big or evening-based – why not meet friends for a wintry walk, hot chocolates in your thermos and biscuits in your pocket?
You can also save money for your Christmas socialising on your usual Friday night drinks. The cost of a pint in London averages £8 – reduce your post-work drink session by just one drink each week, and that’s £64 saved without losing out on your usual routine and social time. If you skip just one Saturday night out with friends between now and Christmas, that’s another £65 saved.
If you prefer staying in rather than going out, consider skipping a bottle of wine each week at home to save about £10 weekly or £80 by the time Christmas rolls around. Additionally, if you tend to order takeaways for convenience during the week, try cutting back on just one each week to save at least £30 weekly – that’s a total of £240 saved in the eight weeks leading up to Christmas.
For those looking to save £150 for a special gift, there are a few strategies to consider. Firstly, consider not buying gifts for certain individuals, such as agreeing to only purchase children’s presents for siblings’ kids or skipping the office Secret Santa. Thrift shopping for gifts can also be a cost-effective option, with potential savings of at least £50 depending on the items found. Lastly, track the prices of desired gifts online, utilize cashback sites, and redeem loyalty points to further reduce costs.
To save £200 for decorations and incidentals, consider switching bank accounts to take advantage of cash incentives offered by institutions like First Direct, Natwest, Nationwide, and Lloyds. By making the switch, you could potentially earn £175 or more. Additionally, cancelling unnecessary subscriptions like streaming services for a month can save you up to £30, helping you reach your goal of a ‘free’ Christmas. sentence to make it more concise:
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