Public Service Announcement: Christmas is closer than you think.

Xiney

Christmas is only 3 months / 13 weeks away.

if you start to save up money next week, you have 12 weeks.

If you have children it's definitely time to start thinking about it, anyway.

Make a list of the people you'll need to get something for, decide how much money you're going to spend on them, try to think of something that will fit that budget (that'll let you know if your budget is realistic or not)

Leave 20 euro for cards/wrapping paper/things being a couple euro more expensive than you thought.

Add everything up and divide by 12 weeks. That's the amount you'd have to save per week to get all of it. If it's too high and you can't do it, revise the list and/or the budget.


My personal, strong suggestion is to try not to go into credit card debt for Christmas, especially this year - there's no telling what the new budget will bring. The dole could get slashed quite heavily, we don't know, and you may not be able to make your repayments in that case.



If you have tips on how to save money at Christmas, please post them here. There's plenty of people who'll need your help.

Xiney

Forgot to mention: you should also account for the bigger Christmas food shopping spend.

tommy21

My advice would be to shop around. It sounds ridiculous to remind people to, but it really is worth it. Electronics, books, dvds and console games especially vary hugely in price depending on the store. Draw up a list of what you are getting for people prior to going shopping and don't stray from it (thus avoiding impulse buying), then mark out 2/3 shops for each item to check before buying. Don't be afraid to bring a notebook and pen (I always use my phone to jot down prices), you won't remember the prices otherwise. More time consuming? Yes. Money-saver? Definately!

Don't rule the internet out either, even if you don't have a credit card or dislike using it online. Paypal for instance accepts 3V cards and major retail sites generally accept Paypal.

Remember to look in Bargain Alerts also, for like-minded bargain hunters!

Oh and don't forget the batteries!

Max Power1

definitly +1 for shopping online. Retailers such as play.com are cheaper than high street stores for music and dvds, similar online stores are cheaper for stuff like electronics etc... check out the prices online before buying on the high street.

Orla K

What we do since we are mostly adults is split the food/drinks cost. There's 5/6 adults and it makes the whole thing much more managable.