Christmas savings

[TiReDmUmone]

Hi
So I know it's just been Christmas but I was hoping to get some advice on how people save for Christmas ? With it being early in the year I thought it would be good to make a start as I have a lot of people I buy for I have a large family

Oh I will have to have a look I love reading peoples ideas of how they do Christmas it can be so stressful sorting it all

I have started saving Tesco clubcard vouchers I have opted for the Christmas saving option

I have 18 adults to buy just in my family

That's insane. I can guarantee that a good proportion of those 18 are similarly stressed about the expense and effort of Christmas gifts as you are. The best thing you can do is agree on no gifts for adults, except perhaps partners and parents. They will thank you for it.

Look back at what you received at Christmas last year. Was the gift exchange worth it financially, as in did you receive good presents of a similar value to what you spent on others? I know you don't give to receive and it's the thought that counts, but most of the time, there is little thought, people are buying to fulfil a completely unnecessary obligation.

If you can't give nothing, just buy presents for DCs who are closely related and who you know well, and perhaps get the adults token gifts like wine/choc, but nowhere near 18 people, which really is madness.

But yes, plan ahead and save all year, but only after cutting down massively.

:@BarbaraofSevillle we tend to spend similar amounts on each other the family is growing I'm 1 of 5 and one of the oldest the others do not yet have children my eldest brother does however he has 6 children now and I have 1 so we both agreed not to buy as he has enough to buy for I have 3 sets of grandad parents as and my parents separated with new partners , my siblings are now starting to have partners aswell so i think I might start going the joint present route for some

Does your work have a credit union, mine does and I have an amount taken from my salary every month. If you don't have you could possibly open a bank account for Christmas and have a direct debit into it monthly. When my children were young i struggled to pay for Christmas but never looked back when I found out money could be taken from my salary directly. It's a great idea to start now though.

:@Totaldogsbody
They do a saving scheme taken from wage I'm not really sure how much to put in it yet I've transitioned from being a student so only started my job this week as a qualified I was thinking of maybe doing 80 pound a month and buying a present every pay day
I hate the feeling of having to try and buy everything in a rush like I've had to in previous years as a student

:@TiReDmUmone
It would be a great idea to join the saving scheme now if you can then you'd never really notice the sum coming out of your salary each month. I started with £50 each month and then whenever I got a wage rise I put an extra £10 in. It's been so beneficial because Christmas was taken care of without the worry that I'd had previously of where Santa could find the funds to pay for children's toys. Good luck in the new job

@Totaldogsbody
I'm going to join the scheme at work I got the forms today I feel that this will work better for me than park as won't be limited where to spend

Very basic but I’ve got one of those tin can money boxes that can only be opened with a tin opener.

Write down everything that you spend on and tot it up. It’s very easy to underestimate. ie if you spend £10 on a gift, but you have to wrap it, and post it and add a card, then it’s costing more than £10 and you need to know that.

I know it all sounds very anal but it’s just so easy to spend far more than you realize

I keep a list on my phone which is basically my budget broken down per person and if I can buy under budget I do. If it’s not on the list I don’t buy. It’s always with me so I have no excuse! I don’t buy bargains for the sake of them, but what I do buy contributes towards the over all savings. It’s taken me a good few years to develop the discipline to save by spending, so I hesitate to recommend it. It can be cheaper in the long run to pay a bit more than to overspend on bargains iyswim

Household spending can increase sharply in December too because you don’t want to run out of loo roll or tin foil or salt on Christmas Day and because it can be hectic in dec it’s easy for these things to run down. I begin stocking up in sept/ oct on supplies, non perishable foods and freezer food. It spreads the cost and also is a cushion in Jan which can be a very lean month.

My she's work has a savings scheme - it's a godsend in December. We do £50 per month. We also stopped buying Christmas presents for adults, so only buy for our kids and my god daughter and nephew. We have a few family birthdays in December, so we do buy for those. But it's such a stress reliever to not be buying for adults too.

My bank account automatically rounds up every transaction to the nearest pound and transfers it into a pot for me. It also allows you to lock the pot til a set date so you can’t transfer out of it. If you really need it you can get it unlocked but it’s not easy so will make you think twice. In 3 months I’ve already saved £80.
I’m also doing the 1p savings challenge so will have over £600 by Xmas. Again that pot is locked.
In general the account also makes it really easy to track where you’re spending money and to make savingsz

I have 18 adults to buy just in my family

That’s just bonkers! Could you either agree to do a secret Santa or just agree not to do adult gifts?

You can be guaranteed that your family also feel the pressure. Regardless of income. So suggest a secret Santa and set a budget. You don’t have to buy crap, you can buy one decent gift for less than 18 tat ones. What’s the worst that can happen? They say no and you remain in your current situation?

First work out what you want your budget to be. Make a list of everything you spend at Christmas - presents (include everyone), food and drink, postage costs, tree, decorations, trips etc. List all of your costs and add it up. Say you're spending £500 then you split that by the number of months left to save for Christmas. Say you have 10 pay days left before Christmas then you can save £50/month. Transfer the money into a separate bank account every pay day. Keep a track on a spreadsheet.

I shop in sales throughout the year using my saved budget. I've got some great bargains this way. I have probably got 70% of extended families presents already for this coming Christmas and about 50% of all stocking presents. I always keep my eyes peeled - can't afford not to. I do the same for birthdays. SIL has a big birthday this year and we bought her a gorgeous piece of jewelery from the white co worth £50 for £10 in the sale.

We do need to put more aside for food and drink though and this year we're hosting. We used to do £1 a week thing with tesco but tbh we shop in Aldi so much that we ended up with about £5. We also don't carry much cash so didn't really work for us.

This year I have been putting money in a tin you can't open.

I buy throughout the year, got lots of bits for dds already in various sales. I buy second hand if I can as its better value.

I've set up a top up direct debit for Amazon for £3 a week which is the equivalent of a coffee out or a bus journey I could walk.

Do you claim working or child tax credit? If so, save for the following xmas with the government help to save scheme.

www.gov.uk/get-help-savings-low-income/what-youll-get

"The most you can pay into your account each calendar month is £50, which is £2,400 over 4 years. The most you can earn from your savings in 4 years is £1,200 in bonus money"

You will never earn that kind of interest anywhere else. To be fair, you have to wait 2 years for the bonus!

I also use a website called shop and scan, get about £60 in amazon vouchers yearly for free

@TearingUpMyHeart no I don't claim anything we earn to much between us , I'll have a look into the shop and scan thank you

I have a £10 a week standing order to an account I can’t touch without going into the branch. Then in November I transfer it to my current account.

I have 18 adults to buy just in my family

THIS is your problem!! Stop buying Christmas presents for adults!! You clearly can't afford to do it,so why spend all year saving your hard-earned money only to waste it on pointless gift-buying?

It's time to put your foot down and just stop doing it!

I pay £130 a month into a building society account I can't transfer the money out of online, takes away the temptation! But I withdraw it in October when I'm ready to shop.

@notanothernam
That's a good idea it would be nice to have a sum saved up to go shopping with