The holidays are fast approaching and on top of everyone’s minds is how their bank account will fare at the end of the festive season. Start small and get your holiday finances sorted by following these saving tips this season.
This does not constitute advice and advice should be sought in all instances before acting on it.
Many have been preparing for months – saving part of their salary each pay day to spend on gifts and parties – while others will wait until the last minute or put it all on credit. These spending habits often spill over from personal to professional lives and can ultimately affect the success of your business. Here are 9 tips for saving over the festive period.
1. Budget is key
A reasonable, well-thought-out budget is the first step in planning and can make or break you this holiday season. Allocate money toward gifts, food, travel, and anything else you know you’ll need to spend money on. Stay strong and avoid the sales if you’re not shopping for a specific purpose so you stick to your budget.
2. Be smart with credit
While the ideal scenario is to never buy anything you can’t afford, credit can be extremely useful to spread out payments on a big purchase (or multiple purchases during this time of year) and there are plenty of deals on cards that will help do exactly that. We recommend looking for one with 0% interest so all you’re paying is the cost of what you bought.
Cashback (or any reward) cards can be useful if you’ve budgeted properly and want to reap the rewards for your purchases. After all the spending during the holidays, you can rack up some amazing rewards so you can treat yourself to something special.
3. Be a bargain hunter
Don’t be afraid to do your homework on the presents you plan to buy. Often cashback sites will offer great deals for shopping sites you already planned to buy from, so it’s basically turning down free money if you don’t take advantage of those deals.
If you’ve got your eye on designer goods, be on the lookout for special flash sales to score high fashion at low prices.
Make sure you’re comparing prices across the web and offline as well. There are sites dedicated to helping you out with this task, so there’s no excuse. Once you know where you want to shop, look for any coupons or discount codes to bring the price down even further.
4. Be loyal
Shopping at retailers where you have a loyalty or reward card – whether you’re buying groceries or home goods – will mean that your points add up. In some cases you can spend your points with other retailers, saving you money when you need it most.
If you’re a dedicated Amazon shopper but aren’t already a Prime member, consider joining. You get a free 30-day trial that helps you save on delivery costs, which easily add up with all the shopping you’re doing for the holidays.
5. But also, be smart
Changing where you bank might net you a pretty bonus. Look for deals that offer cash for signing on that could come in handy at the shops.
6. Don’t be afraid of change
Money is money. If you’ve stashed away your coins all year in a rainy day fund, you can use this money during holiday shopping. Just be sure to sort it all out so you don’t hold up the checkout lane counting pennies.
7. Plan travel well ahead of time
The closer you get to your trip date, the more expensive tickets (be it plane or train) will be. The sweet spot for purchasing plane and train tickets differs, but there are plenty of websites dedicated to helping you find the best deal on travel. So, make sure you solidify your holiday plans sooner rather than later.
8. Catch the entrepreneurial spirit
Clear your house of unwanted junk (freeing up space for the onslaught of presents sure to come) and get some money in your pocket while you’re at it by selling items. You can do it the old-fashioned way and gather everything for a car boot sale or utilise technology and start an eBay store – either way gets you cash in hand.
9. Save on shipping
This is the busiest time of year for delivery services and while Royal Mail might be the obvious choice, there are other options that might actually be cheaper. Be sure you’re not compromising on quality service though and always, do your research.
Don’t let holiday cheer turn into holiday fear. Follow the above advice to remain festive and financially flush this holiday season.