Do you have a budget for everything?

[Lovemusic33]

So this year money is a little bit tight, I save during the year but had to dip into the savings during the summer due to a car repeal bill and a few other things so not I am left with around £500 to do the whole of Christmas, this won’t include food as we don’t really spend much more than we normally would on a weekly shop.

It’s just the dd’s And I Christmas Day.

Dd1 has asked for a Nintendo switch, I am hoping this will be on offer during Black Friday, if it’s not then I’m looking at £300 for the console and a game, I am then left with £200 to sort out dd2 (who hasn’t asked for much) and a few close friends and family.

Has anyone else got a tight budget this year? What are you doing to make sure you stick to it and cover everything/everyone ?

Most of my family have said not to bother too much this year, they are happy with a bottle of wine so I might look at buying a crate of wine to split between adult family members, I then only have a few children to buy for (nieces and nephews).

Any tips on sticking to my budget greatfully received

Also I’m not one for buying tat so I am staying of the Christmas bargain threads or I end up buying tat that no one really needs.

We got our dd’s a Nintendo switch to share. We paid £269 from Smyths with one game.

Find a few website comparison sites - just looked on KelKoo shopping and there's a deal at £242

Check money supermarket for likely discount sales particularly close to Black Friday - can save huge amount

Same with Amazon daily deals

Be creative!

Or buy secondhand - lots of shops do 3 months warrrnaty etc

Thanks Bumbum I haven’t got a clue about consoles or the best place to buy one (this is our first), I think ideally dd would like the Pokemon game with it which I think is quite new. I will be keeping my eyes peeled for a good deal. She won’t be getting much else as I don’t usually spend this much, luckily she’s 14 and understands she will only have a few small gifts.

Dd2 is 12 and has ASD, she has only asked for some Pokemon cards, she doesn’t really play with anything else so I won’t be spending a fortune on her (maybe some cards and a Lego set).

So I should have £100 to cover gifts for everyone else (mainly wine and chocolate).

I have a master list where I assign a budget to every aspect of Christmas. It’s very anal but I found in the past that while I was good at sticking to a budget on the bigger items, there’s lots of small things that add up to an enormous amount. I find it very helpful to have it all written down.

Have a look at what you already have and use up left over cards, paper, and the ends of rolls of tape because they are all things that add up.

Keep an eye on normal household supplies (kitchen roll, toilet roll, tin foil, detergent, salt, oil, spices, bin bags, etc) as they can add massively to the shopping bill if they all run out together just before Christmas I fully believe that my store cupboard conspires against me

For younger relatives have a look at the book people and see if you can get a collection and split it. I’ve bought the Julia Donaldson collection before which worked out at £1 per book (hang on for a discount of at least 20% off).

I stick to £100 per child but if one wants something more expensive I would ask grandparents to chip in or I would give money towards it. My son wanted a Nintendo Switch and had been saving up for it. Along with our money and grandparents added to his savings we were able to get it for him last Christmas

I only buy for a couple of aunties and my parents - only something small like a Christmas candle or cheap book. School photos of the children always go down well and are reasonably priced and things like a mug with a photo of the children are nice too.

My brother and I only buy for each others children as do myself and my cousin.

I do generally stick to my budget but sometimes am tempted as Christmas approaches to buy the children something a little extra! [santa]

I usually stick to £100 per child, it gets harder as they get older, grandparents only give them £10 for Christmas so asking them to chip in won’t make much difference, they don’t get much else other than what I buy them. I’m happy to buy her the switch as it will get used rather than anything else I could get her (she doesn’t really want or need anything else). Hopefully her dad can buy he a extra game to go with it.

I think I have loads of wrapping paper left from last year, I don’t send many cards and probably have some left over anyway.

Hopefully I can stick within my budget, I just need to write a list and stick to it or maybe order everything from the same place so I can see what I am spending rather than going on several shopping trips?