The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Saving for Christmastime
The Christmas countdown has commenced, with many shops already giving over huge amounts of display space to gifts and party wear. So, if you haven’t begun squirrelling away autumn sale bargains, snapping up special offers or thinking about planning out your budget for the festive season, now is the time to start.
One of the most important things to do when getting set is decide how much you are able to budget for the festivities. If you can’t work out how you will pay for something, then you need to go back to the drawing board.
If finances are set to be tight over the last few months of the year, try thinking of ways you can start to make small savings. Even stopping spending £5 a day on lunches, snacks or coffee shop takeaways will mean you have an extra £25 to put in the Christmas present pot by the end of the week – so make up sandwiches or salads and buy a jar of instant coffee until the New Year.
If you’re seriously looking for extra funds, why not raid your cupboards or garage to see if you have anything worth offering up for sale? With local car boot sales and websites such as local newspapers and their websites helping to make selling easy, you could be piling up the pennies in no time.
Meals and party nights are a big feature of the Christmas countdown, so be sure to take advantage of any early bird offers for shows or pantomimes.
Book meals so you can put down deposits and start putting away a small amount at the end of each week so that you have a financial cushion for the celebrations.
It may sound decidedly Scroogelike, but you might wish to consider imposing spending limits so you’re not second-guessing how much you feel you “should” be spending on others – and them on you.
Sometimes it can be fun to try to find a present for a tenner – and it makes you use your imagination rather than panicking whether you have shelled-out enough on your loved ones.
Charity gifts are also becoming a popular choice for the person who seemingly has it all. Rather than buying yet another box of sweets or pair of socks, organisations such as Unicef, Save the Children, Oxfam and WWF offer ready-made packages that you can purchase in the name of your intended recipient: from buying a goat or adopting an elephant to providing life-saving vaccinations for children.