How do you avoid a post-Christmas financial hangover? Share your tips with Lloyds Bank and you could win a £300 Love2Shop voucher NOW CLOSED

[ZaneMumsnet]

We've been asked by Lloyds Bank to get Mumsnetters' tips and tricks for stretching every pound in the run-up to Christmas.

”Christmas is a joyous time of the year, however, many parents find it difficult to truly enjoy it. Somehow, your money (and time) is needed to cover presents, food, drink and travelling amongst many other expenditures. We would love to hear how you make sure Christmas doesn’t leave your bank balance a Santa shade of red.” – Lloyds Bank

So, what's your secret? Do you have a special knack to shopping that saves you pounds? Or are you more into the homespun approach, making your own gifts (and fun). Have you perfected the art of negotiating a lengthy list to Santa with a budget in mind? We’d love to hear your top tips.

Everyone who posts on this thread will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 Love2Shop voucher.

Thanks,

MNHQ

I buy things throughout the year as I see them, Try and get the cupboards well stocked up by December. And be strong, no impulse spending!

I have a spreadsheet with each year's presents on it, going back years, so I can track what i give to whom and how much it costs.
I also do a lot of shopping in January, use John Lewis vouchers a lot and regift loads of stuff we just don't need that other people would enjoy more.

I dont have a financial hangover because I do not go crazy in December.

I start buying gifts in the January sales and I have a set budget per person I buy for. I also buy any new christmas decorations / lights / wrapping paper / cards etc that I need in the sale often at less than 75% of the actual cost.

I also save £2-£3 a week on 2 different store cards (ASDA and Iceland) so I do not have any massive food expenses to pay for. I can also use these to get the kids their advent calendars and their selection boxes as well.

I also pick up a lot of the kids pressies second hand from gumtree, ebay, car booties and charity shops. To be honest at their ages they dont know the difference and they are happy maybe when they are older I will have to put some more money in savings each month to get them the latest bits and bobs.

To be honest the thought of worrying about christmas would ruin it for me especially if I was panicked about credit card and other bills.

I put a little away each month and budget! We both do some over time in December and really watch those pennies!

I don't spend any more than a normal week, just on different things, and I've already planned for Xmas presents and bought them long ago. Budgeting is the same as any other time of year.

We save monthly for Xmas!

Shop across the year, put something away each month however little and be realistic about what you can afford to ensure January is financially manageable.

Start early to spread the cost and benefit from special offers that are less prevalent in December; use cashback sites/apps and comparison shopping especially MySupermarket.com if you have access to multiple supermarkets

I start early buying my childrens gifts. The earlier the better. I pick up gifts through out the year and put them away, nothing to big but I find it easier financially spreading the cost and it is less stressful two. I make a list of what I have bought then wrap the presents which saves time nearer to Christmas to plan fun days out with the family and getting the house ready for Christmas. My children are treated month by month or week by week by myself husband and family but in November/December we have a total ban on buying/or having bought toys gorgeous our children. They can buy magazines, arts crafts items but definitely no toys. We sell our unwanted toys on ebay and use this money for treats in Nov/Dec and give old good condition toys and clothes to Charity. Also making up boxes for the Christmas Shoe Box Appeal. Then in December I buy a few items from their Christmas lists and family buy them gifts from this list too.

I put away bits throughout the year when they are on offer so Im not spending all my money in december

I prepare well ahead, setting my budget for what I can afford. I keep of a record of what I'm spending, and reign in if it's starting to get out of hand. I look out for Christmas gifts throughout the year, and try and buy smart, taking up offers and using cashback web sites.

i save and spend on the credit card, but i try to work a few extra shifts near or just past Christmas to help pay the bills ...

I start buying gifts way before Christmas. But there's always last minute expenses.

So I move a third of my Christmas pay to an attached savings account I have with my bank and then move it back to my current account second week of January. At least then I have a cushion till pay day.

We get paid early over the Christmas period and otherwise it feels like forever till payday.

I save every month and buy things when I see them on offer. I keep a spreadsheet to enable me to keep track of what I've bought and what I still need to buy.

i put £20 away each month starting in January, by dec i have £240 extra to spend on christmas

Have a Christmas and Birthday budget for the year and break it down to monthly amounts on a personal spreadsheet. Then try and use the sales or look out for special offers over the entire year.

We always get a big christmas bonus that used to cover christmas but last year they stopped doing that and moved it to may! This year I have blown my budget so I have had to dip in to my holiday savings as I really didn't want to be putting things on the credit cards. Just means I need to add to my holiday account in January instead of paying off debt.

Buy a little bit of extra food in the weeks leading up to xmas so you dont have a huge shopping bill when you buy the fresh food and budget for presents and dont go over

This is perfect for me because I'm a bit like a character from a Christmas movie... Scrooge! Just kidding, I'm not really, but I do love a bargain My tips are:

i) Cut back on the booze to save big, and when shopping for all the Christmas foodie essentials use mysupermarket to compare best prices on all Christmas treats and plan the Christmas shop to grab the best deals. I also try to make use of 'spend £20 get £3 off' supermarket vouchers, plus printable internet ones that help to keep the price down and the value up.

ii) When shopping for prezzies always have a good look around for the best prices, then, when you think you've found the best deal, try inputting the address into an offers site like flubit for possibly an even better deal. This isn't like buying straight from a retailer so can be a bit riskier, but it might be worth a go to save £££.

iii) Try a cashback site to see if there are any bargains in the form of cashback. There's normally a delay of a few months before it can be withdrawn, but usually goes through without issue.

iv) Pricey prezzies aren't always worth it, lots of little prezzies can fill little one's minds. It's amazing how much fun they can get out of something that only cost pennies.

Christmas is such a magical time for the kids, it should be magical for grown ups too without needing to cost the Earth!

i try my best to save through out the year. I never buy on credit/store cards. If i cant afford things they dont get bought!

Spread the cost and never spend more than you can afford. I try and factor in to my budget the cost of Christmas trips out and extra shopping budget as they sneak up on you. It's often a long month between December and January pay so I try and meal plan and schedule some free fun activities to get through it.

I don't celebrate Christmas. But for anything that I'm planning (birthdays/Eid or general gifting) I tend to stock up on things throughout the year and have them stashed ready for when they're needed - so no massive hit to the purse.

don't spend more than you can comfortably afford. it's no good having a brilliant xmas followed by a miserable january and february

I start buying presents in the after Christmas sales, then I get a couple of presents every month. I also save money in a seperate account to buy the children's main present nearer Christmas in case they change their minds.

I save into a dedicated Christmas savings account all year and use that to buy for Christmas in December