Christmas can be an expensive time and the financial strain can be stressful. Avoiding money worries is just one reason why you should start saving now for Christmas.
Saving can reduce the risk of getting into debt
If you don’t save, you may end up borrowing money to cover the costs. When you borrow on a credit card, store card or loan, you are usually required to pay interest, which means that you pay back more than you borrowed. If you can’t make the repayments on time, you can incur charges or extra interest which means the amount you owe gets bigger.
If you save the money instead, you reduce the amount you need to borrow, which can help you avoid getting into debt.
Saving helps you plan and planning helps you save
Make a list of everyone you need to buy gifts for and how much you will spend on each person. If you have children, do a bit of research on the cost of the presents you want to buy. When you add all this up, you might realise that you won’t be able to save enough in time. Perhaps you need to reduce the amount you spend per person or cut down the number of people to buy for.
Once you have a budget, you can work out how much you need to save each week or month. You may need to cut back a bit now to save enough for Christmas.
Saving can prevent overspending
Having a budget and sticking to it is the best way to prevent overspending. When you have a credit card, it can be very easy to add more and more items without keeping track of what you are spending. When you have savings, you can only spend what you have, so you will probably be more careful.
If you set a limit for buying gifts, it makes it easier to choose gifts because you know exactly what price range to look for.
Top tips
Use supermarket loyalty points against your Christmas food shop
As well as saving money, you can collect supermarket loyalty points throughout the year to use against your Christmas food shop.
Don't wait until the last minute
If you wait right until the last minute to buy presents, you may not be able to find what you need at a price you can afford. If you see a great offer on a gift that you accounted for when you set your budget, buy it early. However, only use your savings early if it is for items that you already intended on buying. Don’t buy extra items just because they are reduced.
Make the most of post-Christmas bargains
If you can hold back some of your savings until after Christmas, you can often get some great deals in the sales. Buy reduced decorations, Christmas cards and wrapping paper for next year. If you know you won’t see a friend or family member until after Christmas, buy their gift in the sale and save yourself some money.
About Morses Club
At Morses Club, we try and help our customers make their money stretch a little further by providing money saving tips on our blog. There may be times when you need a little extra help covering an unexpected cost. That’s when one of our home collection loans could help. A home collection loan isn’t the best option for everyone so check out our how it works section to see if it is right for you.
