DON’T GET SCAMMED!

STAY HOME

Unless you really want to trail around the shops, it’s probably worth doing your shop online.

As well as the benefits of shopping from the comfort of your home, avoiding any wintry showers, you’ll benefit from a 14-day cooling off period. If you change your mind, you can cancel your order if it hasn’t yet shipped, or return it unopened (although you may be liable for the cost of returns).

GET IN THERE FIRST

If yoU’re subscribed to a shop’s mailing list, you’ll often get a heads-up about what will be going on sale and when. so it’s worth signing up to the newsletters ( you could unsubscribe afterwards). It’s also worth checking when sales will start, and setting an alarm if necessary. sometimes they begin at midnight, and sometimes at 7am.

MAKE A LIST

IT’s all too easy to be seduced by what looks like a bargain in the heat of the moment. Instead, write a list. If you’re buying cutprice Christmas presents, work out what you want to get for each person beforehand.

SET A BUDGET

noTe down the most you’re prepared to pay for a gift, or the total you have to spend. Track your expenditure, and don’t exceed this budget. If you’ve hit this and see something else you want, consider cancelling a previous order to get it.

CHECK IT’S A BARGAIN

Use sites such as google.com/ shopping to compare prices across shops for the same item. It’s also worth looking at pricerunner. co.uk and pricespy.co.uk. If you’re buying from Amazon, moneysavingexpert. com has flagged the site uk.camelcamel

camel.com which reveals how a product’s price has fluctuated, and whether the price was elevated before Black friday to make it look like the cost has been slashed.

GET CASHBACK

If yoU’re shopping online, sign up with a cashback website and shop via this. sites such as

topcashback.co.uk and quidco. com drive traffic to a retailer then pay you, the customer, a cut of the fee the retailer pays them for it.

exactly how much you gain can depend on how much you spend, what you’re buying and which site you use. But, for example, Currys is currently selling a samsung 43in smart TV for £349, down from £549 — and if you access the Currys site via Top Cashback, you’ll get six per cent cashback, or £20.94.

Do check the small print, though, as some brands may be excluded.

PAY BY CREDIT CARD

A CreDIT card provides an extra layer of protection if things go wrong — and cashback credit cards also give you back a percentage of what you spend.

some give as much as five per cent back for the first few months, so if you use a cashback credit card

and shop through a cashback site, you’ll save even more. Based on the TV example above, if you pay with a cashback credit card that gives you five per cent back, you’d get another £17.45 back, bringing the total cost down to £310.61.

Just make sure you pay off any credit cards at the end of the month so you don’t end up paying interest, which would cancel out the savings you made.