With only eight Fridays until Christmas we reveal 12 ways to save over the festive period
From making the most of discount and voucher websites to planning ahead for NEXT Christmas, we reveal our 12 top ways to save money this Christmas
WITH eight weeks to go until Christmas many households will be starting to worry about the cost of the festive season.
According to the Centre for Retail Research, the average household spent around £794 on Christmas last year - nearly 60 per cent of which was spent on gifts.
And even more concerning is that this Christmas could cost more than ever, as a string of retailers and businesses have already announced price hikes.
Some experts think it’s “inevitable” that inflation - the rate at which the price of goods and services rises at - will push up prices for shoppers.
However, there are ways you can save cash in the run up to December 25. We share our tips:
1. Buy your train tickets as early as possible
If you're thinking about going away or visiting friends or family, start planning now — you can make some big savings by booking your train tickets in advance.
For example, findings from Trainline show that if you buy a train ticket from London to Birmingham in the next week, it could cost you as little as £6 each way. This compares to as much as £33 each way if you buy on the day of travel in December.
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However, as operators launch cheaper tickets from 12 weeks in advance, you need to act fast as these usually get snapped up quickly.
Further savings can be made by using a Railcard and by visiting sites such as trainsplit.com and buying a "split ticket" on journeys with stops.
2. Switch energy tariffs and save up to £366
There are big savings to be made on bills in the run-up to Christmas by making the switch to a more competitive tariff.
Findings from gocompare.com show energy bills are set to leap by £122.82 tomorrow, when 14 fixed dualfuel deals expire.
Gocompare's Ben Wilson says: "Customers could save as much as £366 by shopping around for a better deal.
"Current top fixed deals include Iresa's Flex2 12-month tariff with an average cost of £744, Avro Energy's Simple and Fresh tariff costing £776, Affect Energy's Fixed Saver October 2017 tariff costing £778 and EDF Energy's Simply Fixed October 2017 v2 costing £780."
The EDF tariff is only available through comparison sites.
3. Make the most of low interest rates and remortgage
Record low interest rates mean it is an opportune time for homeowners to remortgage. So, if you are on your lender's standard variable rate (SVR), it is worth looking for a better deal.
Hannah Maundrell, from money.co.uk, says: "Despite most lenders having reduced their SVRs following the base rate cut in August, almost two million borrowers are sitting on these standard rates, paying up to 5.99 per cent.
"With the market-leading two-year fixed at 0.99 per cent, you could save £3,395 in the first year alone by switching — £283 a month.
"Over two years, this is a total saving of £6,790 including fees."
4. Get savvy with your food shopping and plan ahead
While the shops are starting to brim with festive food, you need to shop carefully. This means drawing up a list before you leave home and being disciplined about sticking to it.
Shopping online can be a better option as home delivery saves on petrol and means you can also avoid getting sucked into all those in-store offers.
Simple savings can be made on staples by buying from a store's "basics" range rather than its "finest" range and by doing your big Christmas shop at a discount supermarket such as Aldi or Lidl.
You can also check you are getting a good deal on your shop by heading to mysupermarket.com. With this site, you can compare prices across the UK's main supermarkets.
5. Save on money on cards and stamps and send e-cards instead
Save money on cards and stamps — while doing your bit for the environment — by sending e-Christmas cards instead this year.
That said, if you are set on sending paper cards, you can save money by being organised and posting them second class. This will mean you pay 55p per stamp as opposed to 64p for a first-class stamp.
But remember to leave yourself en las De De enough time to send your cards, as the last posting date for second class is December 20. For first class, it's December 21.
6. Make your own Christmas decorations and gift tags
Why not bake orange slices, tie cinnamon sticks to them with ribbon and put them on the tree, or go out and find pine cones to hang around your home?
At the same time, rather than waste money on overpriced gift tags, dig out last year's Christmas cards and get creative with a pair of scissors, a holepunch and some ribbon.
7. Cut down on present costs by organising a secret santa
A simple way to reduce the amount you spend on gifts is by organising a Secret Santa where each person buys just one other person, with a set price limit.
Alternatively, you could write "IOUs" family and friends saying that you will wait until the sales to buy gifts, as this means you can purchase presents once goods are discounted.
This can work especially well with TVs, games consoles and computers, as most electronic retailers have a huge January sale with major discounts.
8. Make your own rather than spending money on presents
If you've got a bit of an arty streak, or are pretty nifty in the kitchen, why not think about making your own presents this Christmas?
Homemade gifts such as gingerbread men or jewellery, or a lovingly compiled hamper, are all simple money-saving options, plus it adds a personal touch to your celebrations. Visit Pinterest for some clever DIY gift ideas.
9. Use discount website to save money
See if you can pick up cheap gifts and decorations on a site such as eBay, Preloved or Gumtree — or completely free through local groups such as Freecycle or Freegle.
10. Don’t forget about vouchers and cashback websites
When buying festive gifts or food, take a moment to check out voucher sites such as voucher codes.co.uk and promotionalcodes. org.uk. And remember to cut out money-off coupons from magazines.
Also see if you can get cashback on your purchases through a site such as topcashback.co.uk or quidco.com.
11. Don’t forget about unused loyalty points
Recent findings from Loyalive revealed there are around £5billion in rewards sitting unclaimed in the top loyalty schemes.
So don't forget to make use of unused loyalty points with Tesco, Nectar, Boots and other retailers when purchasing food and presents over the next few weeks.
12. Plan ahead: Start thinking about next Christmas as soon as this one is over
The January sales are a great time to start planning for next year as lots of stores will hold "75 per cent off" sales.
Seize the opportunity to buy presents, cards, crackers, paper and decorations when goods are heavily discounted.
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