Avoid overspending at Christmas with these tips

Do you want to avoid overspending at Christmas?

You had the best intentions to follow the tips we gave you back in September regarding budgeting for Christmas, however you’ve blinked and the big day is approaching. You find yourself in a situation where you are yet to finish your Christmas shopping, but you know you will have to stretch yourself. We get it. So many people will be finding this year’s festivities hard to budget for given the effects of the pandemic and Brexit.

Ahead of the last shopping weekend before Christmas, have you considered how you are paying for it without reaching for the credit card?

Read our tips on how to avoid overspending at Christmas and getting yourself in debt.

1. Budget to avoid overspending at Christmas

It is never too late to put a festive budget together. In fact, at this late stage it is probably the best thing that you can do in order to stay on track when spending.

Put together a gift budget and a food budget. Stick to it. Be realistic and plan accordingly. Make lots of lists, work out how much you are going to spend on each person and manage expectations.

2. Gifting

You have to manage expectations according to your finances over the festive season.

If you have a large family or your finances cannot stretch to buying a gift for everyone then why not float the idea of a secret Santa? Admittedly, you may have left this a little late (but there is always next year!) but it is a great idea. Set a small budget or a theme and get buying. There are specific secret Santa websites out there too which will choose the gift recipient for you and ask for ideas.

Secret Santa might be out of the question this year due to time constraints, however you could still look to save some pennies and go down the DIY gift route. If you are a creative then harness your talent and get creating!

If you have children and gifting usually gets out of hand, why don’t you follow the four gift rule? It’s simple – stick to four gifts along the following lines;

1. Something to wear
2. Something to read
3. Something they want
4. Something they need

3. Minimise your social activities

Office parties, meeting up with friends for a festive tipple and visiting Santa over the festive period can come with a hefty price tag. We are entering the final week before Christmas, when a lot of partying takes place. You may feel under pressure to say yes to everything but you don’t have to!

Plan out what you want to do over the festive period. Set a budget. Accept that you cannot do everything!

Which leads us onto the next tip…

4. You don’t have to spend money to make memories

I’m sure you’ve heard it before – that most people will remember being together rather than the material gifts that they receive. Seems trite but it is true. After the recent months that we have been through, there is a lot to be said about just being together over the festive period.

You may feel under pressure to make festive memories and you may think that it involves spending money. It doesn’t. Be a bit more creative and think outside the box. There are lots of free activities that you can do with family and friends to avoid overspending at Christmas.

• Host a get together (restrictions allowing) and get friends and family to bring a dish/bottle
• Go carolling around your area or look for community carols that take place
• Do a Christmas movie marathon
• Go on a drive-by around the local area to look at the festive decorations
• Make festive spiced cookies and decorate them with the kids, then gift to friends
• Get outside and go on festive walks – if you’re with kids, create a festive activity sheet where they have to spot things and tick them off
• Put on a festive kitchen disco

5. Shop around to avoid overspending at Christmas

Price wars are still going on in retail. Take time to shop around for the best price – this goes for gifts and food. Shopping online can sometimes be the best way forward because you are able to check out the differences in prices in the palm of your hand. Online shopping also cuts out the lure of adding extra things to your basket that shopping in person can lead to.

If you do go into a shop, then ensure that you take a list with you and stick to it.

Meal plan over the festive period. Think about how much food you will actually need and when shopping, take notice of the use by dates. According to The Big Issue, two million turkeys, five million Christmas puddings and over 74 million mince pies go to waste every year in the UK.

And if you have leftovers, the OLIO app is a great tool for passing excess and unwanted food to someone who does want it.

Don’t get yourself into large amounts of debt for the sake of one day. We know that the lure of advertising, consumerism and available credit combined with shiny things, social media and festive cheer can be difficult to ignore, but ignore it at your peril.

Do not forget the everyday bills that will still need to be paid. Ensure that you have your priorities in order and use these tips to avoid overspending at Christmas. Don’t spend January worried about your finances because you overspent in December.

We hope that these tips will help keep you firmly in the black this Christmas. Above all, enjoy the festivities and spending time with your loved ones.

If you find that you are still feeling financially overwhelmed this month and want to avoid a debt hangover in the New Year, then contact us. We may be able to offer you guidance depending on your situation.