Make sure the magic of Christmas doesn’t turn into a financial nightmare
Published 18th November 2016
Christmas is upon us again, and for some, the magic of this time of year can turn into a nightmare. There’s huge pressure to spend a fortune on everything even when we cannot afford it. If you can, make a list (within your budget) and stick to it, however that is not always easy, so try a few of the ideas below to limit your spend and have a great time.
- Calculate your budget and ask ‘What can I afford to spend on Christmas’ then stick to it.
- On average we spend £36.00 per present for our friends and loved ones, how about agreeing a limit of say £10 or try a ‘Secret Santa’ with a £10 limit. For 5 presents that is a saving of £130.
- Instead of giving presents that end up on ebay or in a charity shop, how about offering your services for half a day, say gardening, cleaning, or even a massage, and save £££’s.
- If you know what people want for Christmas use ‘MegaShopBot’ to find the lowest prices, or use your smartphone/tablet/PC to search for discounts and voucher codes.
- Here’s a crazy idea for the person who has everything. Why not buy them some LED bulbs? If you upgraded five 50W spot lights to five 3.5W LED bulbs (around £10 – £15), you could save £39 per year on electricty, equivalent to 130kg CO₂.
- If you have the foresight, wait for the post Christmas sales to buy presents for the following year, you can save a small fortune.
- If you are having friends and family over for Christmas, why not ask them to bring a dish of food for the meal, it will take away some of the burden and save you money.
- If you are travelling by train over Christmas try split ticketing, this is where you may find it cheaper to buy a ticket from A to B then B to C. See SplitTicketing.com
- Turn off your Christmas lights when you can. A 100 string of Christmas tree lights left on for 10 hours a day over 12 days will produce enough CO₂ to inflate 60 balloons.
- Why not send an e-card this year and donate some of the savings to your favourite charity.
- Buy a turkey reared in humane conditions from a local source, it may cost a little more but tastes chemical free, reduces food miles and CO₂ emissions.
- You don’t have to buy champagne (the most expensive bubbly). Try Cava or Prosecco instead, it may even taste better.
- If you are planning a huge shop go to MySupermarket, it will compare the cost of goods at all the big on-line supermarkets. The prices will be similar in-store.
- If you grow your own veggies, try and keep a few for your Christmas meal, for some reason they taste so much better!
Whatever you do, have a great Christmas.
Cheers from the boys @ecofrenzy
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