Teaching Brave
Christmas doesn’t HAVE to break the bank!
According to a study by Finder, almost half of Australians (9.8 million people) racked up Christmas debt last year.
It doesn’t have to be that way. In a time when interest rates are still on the rise and the cost of living is becoming increasingly difficult, there are several ways we can make Christmas time more affordable, and therefore less stressful!
I have an article with 15 Easy Money Saving Tips on my blog, but here are 10 ways you can make savings this Christmas:
ONE – Use cash back apps!
Personally, I use Cash Rewards and Shop Back, and I use these frequently! If you add them as browser extensions to your PC internet browser, they will notify you if there is potential cash back you can earn while shopping on applicable websites. Sometimes stores have sales or promotions, as well as offer increased cash back. Once cashback has been confirmed and it shows up in your Shopback account, you can easily withdraw the cash straight back into your bank account.
TWO – Do you really need to buy something for EVERYONE?
This year, our family has decided to do a Kris Kringle for gifting, rather than Christmas becoming so unaffordable for all of us!
As families are expanding with more babies, and as the cost of living is increasing so much, the potential for Christmas and holiday time to break budgets is growing.
Doing a Kris Kringle can significantly reduce the overall amount you are spending.
If you or your family insists on everyone buying for everyone, think about reducing the amount you spend per person.
Our family reduced our per child spend from $100 to $40 each, making things much more manageable.
THREE – Save up for Christmas! And track your spending.
You can try cutting your spending in other areas (such as takeaway food, new clothing, socialising etc) to be able to put money aside for Christmas time.
It can also be really useful to track your spending at Christmas time.
Personally, I always seem to overspend on food, making different dishes and making sure there’s lots of variety, but I always seem to spend so much!
This year, I’ve decided to opt for some quality dishes, with less variety, and therefore saving a bit.
Tracking your spending can help you assess where you’re spending the most (gifts, food, decorations, eating out) and analyse where you can cut it back or make changes the following year.
FOUR – Get organised early
Make lists, try to take advantage of Black Friday sales and try to avoid last-minute shopping.
Shopping centres and retail giants spend a lot of time and effort on Christmas marketing and merchandising which means it’s easy for consumers to spend more than they planned and to get lured into Christmas deals, newly released products and ‘specials’.
If you end up falling victim to this kind of marketing and therefore spontaneous spending, it’s likely you’ll go over budget and spend too much.
So, making lists and getting organised early can prevent you from overspending.
FIVE – Combine orders and combine shipping.
It’s easy to get lured into spending extra on shipping costs to avoid walking around the shopping centres.
If you are shopping online, try to combine orders from the same retailer where possible, and combine shipping costs to save too.
This can save you from paying for shipping multiple times.
SIX – Recipe substitutions
Can you skip the smoked salmon on your charcuterie board?
Instead of cherries on a pavlova, can you opt for blueberries or kiwi fruit instead?
What about some roast chicken instead of turkey?
If you get creative with substitutes in your recipes or planned meals, there are significant savings that can be made.
There are always particular foods and fruits (mangoes, cherries, avocados) that seem to be overpriced, particularly at Christmas time, but retailers count on customers buying it anyway!
Think about whether you can make some smart or creative substitutions to save some money.
SEVEN – Recycle Recycle Recycle!
Gift bags, wrapping paper, ribbons, even gifts!
That’s right, I’m all in favour of re-gifting, as long as you follow a few basic rules.
Make sure the gift is appropriate for the recipient, not a random item that’s unsuitable.
Make sure you’re not gifting something to someone who may know who gifted it to you in the first place.
Make sure you know and understand the value of the gift. i e – don’t regift expensive crystal that’s not your style, for a $20 limit work Kris Kringle.
The way I see it, if you receive a gift that’s not your thing, it’s yours to do with, as you wish, and keeping it will only add to your clutter. So re-gift it!
I’ve re-gifted bottles of champagne, hand creams, candles and boxes of chocolates.
And the gift wrap stuff is pretty self-explanatory.. gift bags, wrap, ribbons. Keep them and re-use them as much as possible to save you from buying new ones all the time.
EIGHT – Check online for free stuff!
Check out FB marketplace, FB pay it forward groups or Gumtree for gently used Xmas decor, gift wrap and bags, Xmas decorations, kids toys and more!
People give away a lot at this time of year and you can find some awesome items for free (or cheap).
NINE – Give homemade gifts
Homemade gifts make beautiful present ideas and add a personal touch. Think baked goods (brownies, cookies, gingerbread houses), propagated succulents or potted plants, something crafty or even a gift basket.
You don’t have to spend up big on gifts to show generosity and love, if you think outside the box and get a little creative.
TEN – Get organized for next year, right after Christmas!
Buy Xmas items (stationery, decorations, etc) after Xmas on clearance, ready for next year!
I’ve bought rolls of Xmas paper, tags and cards for less than 0.50c on after Christmas clearance sales and put them away for the following year.
It was a relief and a huge saving to dig these out at the following Christmas when you know you will be spending in other areas!
So, those are my ten suggestions on ways to make big savings at Christmas time!
Do you have any other ideas that could be added here?
Liz Michelle is a Single mum and Early Childhood Teacher with more than 20 years of experience in the industry. Liz has 15 years of experience as a Child care Director and Area Manager, leading child care centres to a status of ‘Exceeding’ the National Quality Standards, and is now primary school teaching on a casual basis while enjoying writing, learning about online business and building up the Teaching Brave blog as well as working from home on website management and raising her 13-year-old son, Andy.
The TeachingBrave blog has more than 140 articles on single parenting, saving money, early childhood and general parenting tips including School Readiness, Toilet training, Frugal Living and ‘Bucket Filling’.
Liz enjoys connecting with her readers and followers and is very responsive on the socials (Facebook and Instagram).
