’Tis the season of good will!
Tuesday 14th October, 2008 - £7,899.83 in debt…
It’s Christmas time - there’s no need to be afraid.
Well, it’s not quite, but the keys to managing your money are in preparation and budgeting, so there’s nothing wrong with getting excited two months early. That’s my excuse, anyway.
So what can we do at this early stage to make Christmas a bit more bearable, money-wise? This is what we can do:
1. Start your shopping early, but don’t start buying presents yet. Make a list of all the other stuff you’ll need - food that will keep, wrapping paper, decorations, etc - and buy it when you see a good deal. This will prevent panic-buying at a later stage. If you start on presents now, you’re likely to change your mind between now and December, and you might find it’s too late (or too much hassle) to get your money back.
2. Talk to friends and family about Christmas decorations before you start buying new ones. You’ll probably find they don’t use everything they’ve got every year, so you can rummage through their leftovers or even have a complete swap.
3. If you can trust yourself with it, and you’re currently debt-free, apply for a cashback credit card before you start spending. These can give you as much as 5 percent back on whatever you spend, but pay your balance as soon as the bill comes in or you’ll be charged interest.
4. When you do start gift-shopping, do it online and compare prices using sites like Kelkoo and Pricerunner. Equally, using MySupermarket to compare prices from four major supermarkets will save you money on your Christmas groceries.
5. If you haven’t got them already, apply for as many loyalty cards as you can handle. Hand them over when you stock up on Christmas food and presents, and spend the points later. Most supermarkets have them, as do Waterstone’s and Boots. Watch out for Boots ‘double points’ days.
6. According to the news, there’s some sort of global financial armageddon looming. If I hadn’t had to switch over for Neighbours, I’d be able to tell you more, but suffice to say that everyone will be tightening their belts this year. There is now no shame in buying presents from Ebay or TK Maxx, or going to pound shops for stocking fillers.
7. If you know anyone who’d appreciate some sort of greenery for Christmas, now’s the time to get some pots and compost from a garden centre and take some cuttings from your own plants (or your neighbour’s garden, but don’t tell them I said that). With the right care and attention, they’ll be small but beautiful by December.
8. The more people you can talk to about your debt, the better. Make agreements with as many people as possible that you won’t be exchanging gifts this year, or that they’ll only be small tokens for the sake of unwrapping something. If you don’t want to confess your debt, blame the credit crunch.
9. If you’re likely to be buying presents from Amazon, sign up for Amazon Prime first, which will give you free first-class delivery for a month. Don’t forget to cancel before the month is up.
Keep checking this blog for more ideas as the time looms, but if you’re looking for ‘bah humbug - I’m not spending anything on Christmas this year - boo hoo, I hate it all’, you won’t find it here. I love Christmas and I’m not going to let thousands of pounds worth of debt stop me enjoying it. Bring it on.
