It is almost that time of the year again, Christmas is on the horizon and for a many of us it is the most wonderful time of the year. The cheesy Christmas songs, terrible novelty Christmas Jumpers and excessive amounts of food should be enough to make even the Grinch smile. However with financial gloom hovering over the majority of Europe, times are tight and pockets are feeling the pinch.
With the ever increasing price of energy bills, fuel and food costs taking up the majority of our disposable incomes, we are all looking for ways to make our money go further this holiday season.
You will be happy to know that there are plenty of recession busting ideas which will keep your bank account healthy and the family happy, without the need to close the curtains, boil half a dozen eggs and convince the children it’s Easter.
Share the Cost
Christmas is a time where all the family come together for a big social, however this usually involves one home being invaded leaving one person to supply all of the servings. Instead of one person being left with the burden, why not gather as many people as you can together and ask each person to provide one element of the main meal, e.g. turkey, booze or Christmas pudding.
Shop Online
There are thousands of retailers available to explore, there really has never been a better choice. The internet also makes it very easy to compare prices for the same product to ensure you get the best deal, which is a reflection of the ever growing competition levels between online retailers. Despite all of these benefits the internet does have potential stumbling blocks. Overspending is one of them, due to the fact no physical cash has to be handed over within the transaction.
Overspending can easily happen when online retailers use clever and tempting marketing techniques designed to stimulate impulse buying. One way overspending can be avoided is with the use of electronic vouchers and gift cards. This will help control your spending as you can only use up to the value of your voucher. It will also help keep you safe online by as you only have to use a voucher code for purchases meaning no personal data will have to be handed over.
Be Organised
By shopping early and buying gifts, food supplies and entertainment for loved ones it reduces the chances of panic buying. Leaving it all until the last minute can be stressful and costly which often results in emotional unplanned purchases. Retailers realise that every year there will be a last minute rush and tend to hike prices up due to increases in demand, remember the old say “the early bird catches the worm”.
About the author: Chris Algar writes on behalf Ukash who provide a safe and convenient way to pay online. Ukash also stock the UKs top 50 most popular gift cards for retailers such as I-tunes, HMV and Argos.
Definitely agree with all of your points above – I would also recommend the use of cashback websites where available. If you are spending the money anway, its always worth checking if any cashback websites are offering discounts or cashback on the products that you will be buying – might as well earn yourself a little treat too while you’re buying those presents for everyone else!