Re-gifting presents you have never used is a great way to declutter the house AND keep costs low. I think this is an under-utilised option for gift giving and can definitely help if you’re doing Christmas on a budget. It doesn’t have to be fancy, but I can guarantee that the person you give it to will love redeeming their vouchers later! Re-gift For example, you could promise to make a candle-lit dinner, run a gorgeous bubble bath, give a neck massage or wash the car. Be careful not to overdo it on the materials and spend more money than you have though! Make A Booklet of “Life-Cheques”Ĭreate a booklet of cheques or vouchers that promise a variety of experiences throughout the year. Why not create a hamper of treats for someone, or create a personalised calendar or photo-album or put together a bouquet of flowers. I love getting homemade gifts! This could be food (chocolate/cake/mince pies/jams and pickles), or it could be something crafty. If you really want to make it competitive, you could give everyone the option to “stick or swap” – if they like their gift, they keep it, but if they don’t, they can “steal” a gift from someone else and make them swap! Get Crafty Everyone is covered as each person will have someone to buy for, and everyone in turn will receive a gift.Īlternatively, put “neutral” gifts into a bag and make it fun by allowing everyone to pick out a gift at random. This doesn’t have to be a work-based event anyone can do a secret santa! The idea is you all agree on a limit for gift buying, then pick a person’s name at random out of a hat – you then only have to buy a gift for that person. If you’re really tight for cash, and want to do Christmas on a budget this year, why not try using this strategy? Take Part In A Secret Santa It takes the pressure off both people to buy gifts. This is where you can generate an email that explains to your friends and family that you will not be doing presents this year, or will only be spending a very small amount per-person. The Money Saving Expert has the “Pre-No Unnecessary Present Pact”. So in order to keep it reasonable (and fun), I’ve listed some ideas that I have tried in the past that do help to save the pennies! It might mean that you need to re-evaluate how much you will spend this year, if at all. Thankfully, there are things you can do right now. So what if you don’t have lots of money saved up? Isn’t it worth doing things differently this year? Besides, if you have calculated your net worth, and you have more liabilities than you have assets, you’ll dig yourself further into the negative with over-spending. Our goal here is to try and stay out of debt. So what could he have done instead? If you haven’t saved up much money for Christmas this year and you’re starting to feel a little panicky, try not to worry! You could try setting up a “GoFundMe” page too, but perhaps you could try shifting to something a little different than traditional gift giving and do Christmas on a budget (without removing the fun!)? How To Pay For Christmas If You Don’t Have Savings Yet? It sets up a cycle of reliance on a certain level of income, that as he found out, causes problems when that wage is no longer available. I think it is a dangerous trap to be in where spending money is the root to your child’s happiness at Christmas. I don’t blame him at all, but I do blame a society that has taught us this message. The bit that I’m uncomfortable with though is the fact that he felt it necessary to raise this money so his kids could be “happy”. This is what led him to try crowdfunding, and hats off to him – it worked! Obviously this is an unexpected medical situation, and it would put anyone on the back foot.Īccording to the article, his boss didn’t have a lot of sympathy for his situation, and would not reinstate his overtime hours, leaving him out of pocket. He lost money at work after needing to reduce his working hours from 45 to 24 to care for his pregnant wife who was having a lot of chest infections. In the story, a man in his 30s with 5 children has raised £2000 through crowd funding so that his children can have a “happy Christmas”. So I’m scrolling through Facebook the other day and come across an article that leaves me with mixed emotions. Add to this a whole range of parties and socialising and December becomes one expensive month with your credit card being a tempting crutch to lean on. It doesn’t matter when you read this, prepping for Christmas needs to happen ALL YEAR ROUND!įor many years I neglected to save for Christmas, and then when the month came around, I had to spend money on presents that I just didn’t have.
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