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December, AKA the most expensive month of the year, is just around the corner, and with the countdown to Christmas already beginning, we thought we’d share some tips on how to prepare for and celebrate Christmas on a budget so that you’re not breaking the bank this holiday season.
When it comes to Christmas shopping, be it food, gifts or decorations, switching to a cash-only system is an excellent way to stop yourself from overspending.
Simply withdraw the exact amount of cash matching your agreed budget, and commit to only spending what is available to you.
For an added challenge, you might even decide to leave your payment cards at home to completely remove the temptation to splurge elsewhere once you’ve spent all of your cash!
For those who like to gift in the form of goodie bags, hampers, or care packages, bulk-buying is the way to go.
Bulk-buying will not only save you time, but since purchasing multiple items at once typically works out cheaper than buying gifts individually, it’ll help spare you some extra cash too.
Suppose you wanted to gift multiple goodie bags to various friends or family members - you can start by creating a list of the items you want to include, for example ‘bath bombs, candles, ornaments’, then, search each item online in multipack form and separate them between each bag.
Shopping with a list is a simple but effective budgeting tip that we think should be used all year round and in any case, but it’s particularly important over the holiday season.
What often causes us to overspend is the lack of organisation around gift planning. In other words, if you already have a rough idea of what you’re gifting each person, you’ll be more likely to avoid buying unnecessary ‘filler’ gifts, and therefore save money.
We’d recommend taking a few minutes to research gift ideas before you head to the shops for a more productive and efficient shopping experience.
Buying Christmas presents can prove quite a stressful experience when you’re short on time or money, so why not ease the stress by getting creative and making your own gifts? The more sentimental, the better - after all, it’s the thought that counts!
Here are some easy DIY gift ideas to inspire your Christmas on a budget:
Nothing says Christmas on a budget like Secret Santa.
When it comes to the much-loved tradition, most of the hard work is already done for you - you’ll already have a spending limit set (typically around the £10 mark), and you’ll be assigned a friend, colleague or family member to buy your gift for.
These limits help you stay focused, stop you from overspending and make both giving and receiving gifts a fun experience!
One of the best ways to ensure that you’re sticking to your budget this Christmas is to download our exciting new budgeting app, Budget by Koody.
When you use Budget by Koody, you’ll have the power to create a fully personalised Christmas savings pot where you can set your own spending limits, input each purchase to stay on top of your spending and record your receipts for a detailed track record of every Christmas expense.
That way, you’ll know exactly where your money has gone and ensure that you’re not spending over your limit.
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