Early to stores best strategy

COMPLETING my Christmas shopping list is a goal I always try to knock over before December 1.

I dread hitting the stores in the remaining weeks before Christmas when panicstricken shoppers are making a mad dash through the aisles.

We only have four weeks to go until December 25, and these are five cost-cutting measures I adopt every year to avoid blowing the budget.

1. MAXIMISE SALES

I am counting down to Black Friday and Cyber Monday, which fall within the next week.

We know retailers are feeling the pinch and they will be hoping we let the moths out of wallets on these discount days.

If you want to save yourself some serious bucks I suggest pouncing at these sales. It is likely to be your last decent chance to snare presents with a nice discounted price tag attached. 2. LIMIT LISTS

There is no need to buy crappy gifts for every Tom, Dick and Harry you know.

Chances are those token presents will be rubbish they throw in the back of their cupboard anyway.

I pen out a gift list every year and for some of my mates we have mutually agreed to ditch buying presents for each other, which reduces everyone’s costs.

It is a win, win.

I believe Christmas is for kids anyway. Nothing beats seeing them smile on Christmas Day when you give them an awesome gift.

3. PAY FOR IT NOW, NOT LATER

Why roll into the new year laden with debt? No one feels good when they owe money on their credit card.

I always stick to the strategy of spending using debit. Otherwise it means I simply cannot afford it.

Putting purchases on a credit card or using buy now, pay later schemes such as Afterpay and Zip Pay are delaying the inevitable.

And it only becomes worse if you are hit with fees and interest charges if you cannot meet the strict repayment criteria on these credit products.

4. USE A SAVINGS ACCOUNT

If you are organised enough to have set up a separate bank account for Christmas expenditure, you enter December without being financially stressed out.

I have a separate account set up for Christmas spending and automatically tip in $30 a week each time I am paid.

So over 12 months I save up $1560 — a big help at this time of year.

5. SALES TACTICS

Be wary that retailers are hoping you will spend more than you planned, whether it is online or in their bricks and mortar stores.

Those deals where you have to spend over a certain threshold, for example spend $150 and receive $50 off, can be very useful. But if you only planned to get this discount by spending more, you are probably wasting your money.

Happy Christmas shopping!

Sophie Elsworth is the national personal finance writer for News Corp.