Brits share their top tips for a low-cost Christmas
Vouchers, discount codes and loyalty points top the list of the nation’s top tips for saving money at Christmas, with just over half (52%) of UK adults using them to cut the cost of celebrating the festive season, according to a new survey.
Over 2,000 UK adults were asked about ways to trim the cost of Christmas – revealing a sack full of Christmas budgeting ideas including down-shifting your supermarket, planning ahead to avoid last minute panic purchases, avoiding expensive ‘Christmas experiences’ and agreeing a price limit for gifts between family and friends.
The survey, commissioned by Gocompare.com, also confirms that women are savvier Christmas shoppers than men. They are much more likely to plan ahead and use a range of purse-pleasing tactics including using discount and money-off schemes, setting and keep to a budget and hand make gifts and cards to keep costs down:
Rank | Top Christmas money saving tip | Total (%) | Men (%) | Women (%)
1 Use vouchers, discount codes or loyalty points 52 45 59
2 Set a budget for presents and keep to it 45 40 49
3 Buy presents in the sales 39 36 42
4 Avoid expensive Christmas experiences 37 39 36
5 Plan gift ideas in advance rather than buying at the last minute 36 28 43
6 Cut down the number of people you buy presents for 36 31 40
7 Agree a price limit for gifts for family and/or friends 36 31 40
8 Shop at a cheaper supermarket than last year 30 28 31
9 Use money-off apps 20 19 20
10 Reduce the number of people on your Christmas card list 19 18 20
11 Swap you Christmas turkey for chicken or other meat 17 18 16
12 Reuse or make your own Christmas wrapping paper 15 13 16
13 Plan traditional family days out instead of expensive treats 14 13 16
14 Make homemade gifts or cards 14 10 18
15 Drink at home before going to a Christmas party to save money on buying drinks when out 14 15 13
16 Buy joint presents with family or friends 14 12 15
17 Send e-cards or emails to save on the cost of buying Christmas cards and postage 13 14 13
18 Use a 0% credit card to spread the cost of Christmas 11 14 8
19 Create homemade Christmas games 7 7 8
20 Invite yourself to eat Christmas dinner at your parents’ house (or other relative or friends’ house) 7 8 7
Commenting on the research, Claire Peate, customer insight manager at Gocompare.com said, “For many people, Christmas puts added strain on already stretched finances – but as our survey shows, some forward planning, sensible budgeting and a little Christmas creativity can help you shave the cost of your festive spending.
“Money-off coupons, loyalty points and apps can help cut the cost of a wide range of goods and services – from supermarket shopping, books, restaurant meals to days out, enabling you to reduce the amount you spend without compromising your festivities.
“Credit cards can also be an effective way to spread the cost of Christmas – but only if you budget wisely and keep to an amount you can afford to repay. In particular, look for cards which offer a generous interest-free period on new purchases which will give you time to pay-off your Christmas spending without adding interest to the debt.”