In Association With Birmingham Midshires
With the cost of living going up and wages not following in line, Christmas seems to have become more expensive than ever. Gone are the days that all of the Christmas shopping could be done from November’s wages and people seem to be starting their shopping earlier and earlier every year. I’d love to be the sort of person who could start their shopping in January and do it little by little over 12 months, but I lack both the shopping skills and organisational prowess to be able to do that sort of thing! Now, it seems, that saving is the only option and it’s always a good idea to Compare Savings Accounts to make sure you’re getting a good deal.
However, I also asked a few of my blogging friends to let me in on any of their money saving ideas, as I know that us bloggers can be a resourceful bunch, and I thought I’d share a few of them with you here, so that you can start making your own Christmas savings:
Carolin from Mummy Alarm said: “If you are the one hosting Christmas dinner, ask people to bring drinks and puddings.” This is a great way to spread the cost of what is probably one of the most expensive meals of the whole year, and also allows people to add their own touch to dinner and take some of the stress off of the host.
Donna from Little Lily Pad said: “Make the most of vouchers such as Tesco Clubcard – they are doubling up their vouchers on certain products at the minute. I wrote a post about this a while ago, which you can find here.”
Steph from I’m Counting UFOs said: “Use cashback sites, such as Quidco, when you buy things online throughout the course of the year, then pop the earnings aside in time for Christmas. You can usually earn a good amount of cashback on things like switching energy suppliers, mobile phone contracts and insurance policies. Retailers often up the cashback offered in the run up to Christmas as an incentive to buy!”
Andrea from All You Need is Love and Cake suggests buying presents throughout the year when you see things on offer, which is a good idea and proves that not only do her baking skills outrank mine by about 4 billion times, but so do her organisational skills as well, which makes her one heck of a woman in my book!
Helen from Kiddy Charts had some great tips, too: “How about buying a crown not a whole turkey, as they are cheaper and easier to cook. They don’t take as long either, so saving energy too! Also use charity shops for the kids toys. There are some great things in them throughout the year, and if you keep your eye out, you can come up with some great bargains. I got a load of Polly Pocket stuff for my daughter in there a couple of years ago for about £2.50!”
My tip would be to shop around; Husband and I NEVER make a purchase before checking online first to see if we can get it cheaper elsewhere, but don’t forget to factor in postage costs and make sure it’ll be with you on time for the festive period.
Of course, once you’ve made these savings, the best way to hang onto it is by opening a savings account with Birmingham Midshires. Head over to their site to check out their deals, and thank you to all of the lovely bloggers who contributed their wisdom.
