The Best Hacks to Save Money This Christmas
Our list of the best money saving hacks you need this Christmas is exactly that – a full and growing list of ways to take the financial strain off of Christmas, to help you relax and enjoy the festivities.
Do you find yourself stressing and worrying about the cost of Christmas, but wondering how to save money for all those Christmas presents, food and activities?
We’ve put together an evolving guide of advice for how to save for Christmas, how to earn money for Christmas, money saving hacks and how to find the best Christmas deals.
Christmas can definitely be a stressful time financially, so we’re here to give you some easy money saving hacks and help take the worry out of Christmas. We’ve even got some cool ideas on how to earn extra money to spend at Christmas time!
Why You Should Save Money for Christmas
For most people, it’s the same routine every year. December is always expected to be an “expensive month” and January is always a long and painfully slow struggle to make it to payday (especially if you’re doing dry January…).
But it doesn’t have to be like this! If you put in a bit of effort throughout the year and take the time to do some forward planning, then it’s not only much easier to save money for Christmas, but you’ll also see a lot more payoff (literally!) from your efforts.
By starting to think about saving money early, even as early as January, you can divide the financial pressure of Christmas over the year, instead of trying to frantically save money for Christmas in October and November.
The longer you give yourself to look for those Christmas bargains, and the more effort you put into saving money for Christmas, the more money you will save! It’s a little bit of effort during the year, for a massive saving at Christmas time. But how do you actually save money for Christmas?
How to Save Money
This list will give you our favourite money saving hacks and tips for saving money for Christmas. It’s also got some great advice for saving money in general, cause we’re nice like that. 😉
Set up a savings account and name it ‘Christmas’
This helps with dividing the cost of Christmas over the year. Instead of seeing December as an “expensive month”, prepare for it in advance so it’s not such a financially stressful time. Also, if you know that the money you are taking out of savings is going to something specific, instead of just a ‘rainy-day’ saving account, you’ll be less likely to take it out. (This is our favourite money saving hacks and works great for holiday savings!)
Put the money you would’ve spent on plans that get cancelled into a Christmas savings account
When your plans get cancelled during the year, add the money you would’ve spent that night or day into your Christmas savings account. So that coffee, dinner or beer you didn’t go for, goes into your Christmas fund. This makes it feel like you’re earning extra money too!
Buy things outside of when they’re in high demand
Companies know that people are willing to pay more for things that are in trend, whether that’s seasonal or just a popular craze. By anticipating high periods of demand and avoiding them, you can save money by avoiding the price increases! If there’s high demand, there’s no need for sales to push products. Think about the cost of jumpers in Summer, and the cost of gloves in Winter.
Remember – High demand = Higher prices
Switch your accounts and providers for savings or rewards
Switching insurance, bank accounts, broadband, mobile phone, credit cards, tv contracts and more can all be ways to make massive savings or earn free money (companies offer an incentive for switching to their service). This is a great way where a little effort can end up paying off month after month.
Research cashback schemes
And actually make use of it! Cashback websites pay the user a percentage of their affiliate link rewards, it might be a small amount but it definitely adds up if you’re Santa for 3 kids this year! Your bank account or credit cards might also have cashback reward schemes, which often sit unused with people not knowing how and why to use them. You might be missing out on free money!
Invest in yourself and learn how to save money with a financial advice book
We aren’t claiming to be financial experts (we’ll stick to Christmas) but Martin Lewis is! His book ‘The Money Diet’ teaches you where and how you can make savings in your life. Even if you’re not looking to save money for Christmas, this is still a great investment. A small price to pay, which will end up more than paying itself back through the savings you’ll make.
Join Facebook groups dedicated to finding bargains
Facebook has free communities of people dedicated to hunting down bargains and posting photos of their finds! People post every single day with discounts they’ve found online and in stores. This is a really great way to find deals without having to look hard!
Ask someone you’re close to if you can skip the gifts this year
They’ll understand that you need the money for something else, and they’d rather miss out on a present than know you’re struggling to pay for other bits. It’s better you tell them you aren’t getting them a present than them expecting one and not getting it.
Get a Christmas budget tracker
By keeping accountability for how much you’re spending, and how much you will be spending, you’ll be much more likely to stick to it. It takes some of the worries out of Christmas spending by helping you control and keep track.
| INVEST IN YOURSELF AND LEARN HOW TO SAVE MONEY WITH MARTIN LEWIS’ ‘THE MONEY DIET’! BUY THE BOOK NOW! |
Here is our very own Christmas Budget Tracker. Budget your entire Christmas with the budgeting section of our Ultimate Christmas Organiser. 76 pages and 10 categories, this is the ONLY Christmas organiser you need this Christmas!
How to Earn Extra Money for Christmas
If you’re reading this thinking, “but how can I save money if there’s none leftover at the end of each month?”, then don’t you worry. We’ve put together some money earning hacks and ideas to earn extra money for Christmas time. Most of these are easy to do alongside a full-time job, to give you a little extra income to spend at Christmas and ease the financial worry.
Sell your unused things
Use sites like eBay, Depop and Vinted to sell your clothes, home decor items and anything else you don’t need. Take a few good quality photos and write some compelling descriptions, including any defects and upload them to selling sites. Remember to account for the cost of postage, selling fees on eBay, and buying packaging. We like to use these Amazon parcel bags for sending clothes as they work out at less than 10p each.
Buy things from Charity shops and sell online
This is a great and fun way to make money that has even turned into a full time business for some people. Research what sells well on eBay and Depop and look for those items in charity shops. Remember that it’s not necessarily what you would like to buy, but you have to look for what is in demand. (remember this from earlier? high demand = higher prices!) If your items don’t sell straight away don’t be discouraged, just keep updating the description and maybe take better photos until the right person finds it.
Sell things people are getting rid of for free on Facebook marketplace or other sites
This one is a bit controversial to some people, but we think you’re doing a favour by taking something off someone’s hands that they don’t want to take to the tip or have the hassle of selling.
Ask friends and family if they have anything they want selling, for you to keep a percentage of the profit for helping them out
Remember to ask them to pay for postage costs, packaging and selling fees.
Complete surveys for extra money
There are tons of websites with extensive lists of survey sites to help you make extra money online, but here are a few of our favourites. Some survey sites payout by PayPal or bank transfer, but some give vouchers for stores like Amazon or Tesco.
- Panelbase (bank transfer)
- iSay (vouchers)
- Prolific (Paypal)
- Neevo: (Neevo pays you for microtasks, like rating the quality of a voice recording. Paid pennies for hundreds of tasks so it can work out quite well paid.)
Matched betting
This is a method of making use of bookmakers free offers and promotions to place free bets and reinvest your wins into more bets. It takes a while to learn, but once you’ve learnt the process it’s considered to be fairly risk-free, as matched betting is based on a mathematical equation rather than chance. This might not be for everyone so remember to Be Gamble Aware.
Pick up a second part-time job
There are loads of part-time jobs you can get that just require a car or bike, like Uber, Deliveroo, working delivering parcels. You could do this a couple of evenings a week or month and earn some extra cash for Christmas. If you don’t have a car, you could pick up an additional bar, call centre or data entry job in the evenings or weekends. This is also a great way to meet new friends!
Work an online transcription job
These can be done from the comfort of your home in your spare time. With most sites, your pay will increase as you get more experienced. It can take a while and you need a high level of accuracy, so make sure you practice before taking the entry ‘test’.
Invest in a TEFL certificate and start teaching English online in your spare time
Once you’ve paid for and completed the initial qualification, you can start making money straight away.
Research companies that will hire with your qualification. For example, some companies require you to hold a degree or be a native English speaker, so don’t pay for the TEFL qualification if you aren’t certain you’re qualified for a job.
Easy Money Saving Hacks for People Who Don’t Like Saving Money
If you’re looking for some easy money saving hacks whilst still getting into the spirit of Christmas shopping, then these tips are perfect for you. We’ve put together a list of some ways you can cut corners and get creative, to make saving money for Christmas a little bit easier.
Do your Christmas shopping in sales
January sales, Black Friday, Spring sales when winter items like nice gloves and scarves are on sale and more. Keep an eye on your emails to see when companies are promoting things. Make a separate email for brand promotions and snap up the best deals when they hit your inbox.
Go minimalistic with your wrapping paper
Buy a bulk roll of brown paper and a big roll of ribbon to wrap all of your presents and save some money on rolls of wrapping paper. Your presents will look really stylish and sophisticated, and it’s recyclable, whilst saving money, so its a win-win-win! Write a nice note directly on the paper to replace buying gift tags, or…
Use old Christmas cards to make gift tags
Save last years Christmas cards and cut out the main image or random shape, and then hole punch and tie some string or ribbon. Easy peasy!
Keep any gift bags you receive throughout the year
Use these for delivering presents to people (unless the gift-giver has asked for it back!)
Making your own Christmas decorations
This is not only a great crafting activity, but also save you some money.
- Buy (or make a wreath) and a Christmas scented (or just red/white) candle and place it in the centre of the wreath for an easy but stylish table centrepiece.
- Use your old Christmas cards to make Christmas bunting, or just hang up this year’s cards on a string around the house – we love doing this!
- Make a cute Christmas sock bunting. Sounds weird but it is so cute hung over a fireplace or end of your bed. Find some kids Christmas socks on offer somewhere and hang them on a string with clothes pegs. Or if you know a knitter, (and don’t we all!) ask them to knit some simple Christmas sock patterns and hang on a string.
Use the Olio app Facebook marketplace to save money
Use this app on things you’ll buy at Christmas anyway, especially food you can freeze! People are always getting rid of things, and Olio makes this easier and aims to reduce food waste. Olio allows people to post things they no longer want or need, whether it’s food, furniture or random household items. All you have to do is say you want the item, and go and pick it up!
Don’t follow every tradition
Think about what your family actually enjoys and don’t buy things that won’t get eaten. Are people actually eating and enjoying the turkey? If not, then it’s not worth the money. Buy something new and delicious and start your own traditions. Research what different cultures cook on Christmas day and incorporate something different into your Christmas dinner!
Buy food when you see it’s on offer and freeze it
Your freezer is your best friend when it comes to saving money at Christmas. Make sure you organise your freezer before Christmas time and eat anything up that’s been in there a while, to make room for all your Christmas food bargains.
Spend more to save more!
Buy fewer items of higher quality, so you end up saving money in the long run. Or buy a few, nicer, versatile items that can be easily customised with cheaper baubles or ribbons each year that match your colour scheme.
If you’re an artificial tree advocate, this is a good example of where spending a bit more initially can save you money down the line. Pick up an Artificial Christmas tree in the January clearance sales but still get a good quality one.
Make your own gifts!
This could be something homemade, customised or a couple of items which make a thoughtful gift pack. Check out our full list of homemade (but still good!) Christmas gift ideas to help save money whilst still making your friends and family happy.
Our Final Thoughts on Money Saving Hacks
Saving money for Christmas will get easier each year as these money-saving hacks become second nature. You’ll soon become a pro and be able to spot a bargain from a mile away.
And finally, invest in your saving journey with a book about how to save money, and it’ll more than pay itself back over time. Here are some of our favourites. (P.S. these also make great presents!)
Money Saving Hacks Resources
1. The Money Diet – revised and updated: The ultimate guide to shedding pounds off your bills and saving money on everything!
2. Manage Your Money Like a F*cking Grown-Up: The Best Money Advice You Never Got
3. Why Didn’t They Teach Me This in School?: 99 Personal Money Management Principles to Live By
Related Christmas Tips Articles:
- How To Have A Stress Free Christmas
- The Only Christmas Organiser You’ll Ever Need
- 15 Easy & Unique Homemade Christmas Gift Ideas
- How To Make A Christmas Wreath In 4 Simple Steps
- Things To Do This Christmas For The Best Christmas
