Issue #011: 22 Christmas Money Saving Hacks 🎄

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👋 Hey Money Peeps,

Christmas 🎄- the time for family, food, fun and most importantly… spending a sh*t ton of money.

I’m actually Jewish so this isn’t a problem I have firsthand experience of exactly. However, around this time of year we have the festival of Hanukkah, which is a bit like Christmas because it also involves giving presents, but instead of just one day, it’s lasts for 8!!!

To summarise: December = Spend like there’s no tomorrow

Now this newsletter is going to tell you not to buy any presents for any of your loved ones this month, because that’s impractical and quite honestly just mean. Instead I just want to give you 22 hacks that you can implement to try and save you the odd penny here and there when shopping this month, so that you can feel a little bit better about yourself come January… sound fair?

📈1% Better Every Day

DECEMBER, Spend Like There IS a Tomorrow 😅

1. Stop the UNNECESSARY gifts

   For some reason, every year people’s gift lists keep expanding. This is a gentle reminder that you don’t need to get your coworker’s uncle’s best mate’s kid anything…EVER. And in return they don’t have to give anything to you either. These kind of gifts benefit one person and one person only, the retailer.

2. Beware of return dates

   If you’re an early shopper for Christmas, firstly well done for having your life so well put together, but secondly, please note the return dates for everything you buy. The last thing you want is a gift that someone wants to exchange but it’s past the date. Perhaps consider booking a later delivery date as returns normally start from the day the package arrives, not the date it was ordered

3. 30 day rule

   One of my favourite methods to prevent me spending is to quite literally pause before hitting pay. Whether that’s 24 hours/1 week/30 days, the length doesn’t matter. What’s important is for you to remove emotion from purchase and replace it with logic. This hack does exactly that!

4. Don’t let credit cards ruin the fun

   Credit cards are one of my favourite financial tools, but especially around the heavy spending month of December, they can be quite the nuisance. Please PLEASE make sure that you spend responsibly so that you can pay it off in full at the end of the month, if not don’t use it.

   P.s. I have some more tips coming a little bit further that will help with this!

5. Charity

   Linking this one to tip no.1, one great way to avoid not only the cost of unnecessary gifting but also the time and stress associated with it is to donate to charity instead. Then send around an email saying that instead of a gift, you decided to donate to charity on their behalf this year. Trust me… NO ONE will be angry (and if they are… well maybe they shouldn’t be on your gift list in the first place)

6. Cashback

   Nice and simple - try some cashback sites to save yourself some money when shopping. You can look at my last newsletter here for some of my favourite recommendations.

7. plan plan plan

   Planning is quite literally my No.1 way of saving money in any scenario. Remove the guesswork out of how much you want to spend this year. Make a list, check it twice and stick to it.

8. Secret santa

   Instead of having to buy every individual a present in your office, why not set up a secret santa so that you only have to get one present. Even if you’re bad at maths, I’m sure you can see the money saved by doing this.

9. Use a credit card (if it’s over £100)

   Okay, yes, I can see how this might contradict No.4 but let me explain. Around this time, fraud with online shopping is at its highest rate. By putting just £1 of any gift worth >£100 on a credit card, you are protected by Section 75. Huh? it’s a law that means the credit card company are jointly liable to pay you back if something goes wrong.

10. Track track track

    Making a plan is step one of my favourite money saving hacks, step two is then to actually follow along with your spending to ensure your actually keeping to that plan. Literally note it down in an Excel doc and you’re good to go.

11. Second hand

    Second hand market places are becoming more and more popular. And remember, it’s the thought that counts! (not that you need to tell them it was second hand either way)

12. Beware of Boxing Day

    You’ve got a full belly, you can barely move and the next thing you know it’s boxing day and there are sales all over your phone. Your will power and discipline are at an all time low. You just can’t help yourself scrolling for a few hours to find a good deal. WELL STOP DOING THAT. Remember - if you are only buying something because it’s on sale, you are wasting 100% of that money.

13. Twice on debit card

    If you can’t afford to buy all of your gifts twice on a credit card, don’t buy them once on a credit card…nuff said

14. Group gifts

    If despite what I said in no.1 you still feel like you need to give a gift to your Great Aunt Mary and her 4 kids, why not group it together and get one thing for the family. Better yet, why not group together with your siblings and parents to split the cost. 1 gift divided by 5 gifters = you spend less.

15. Cut costs this month to save money

    Feel like even with all these hacks you’re still going to be cutting it quite tight? consider other methods to save a bit more money this month, such as cancelling some TV subscriptions or holding back on that weekly takeout.

16. Choose time

    Remember earlier when I said it’s the the thought that counts - well sometimes the best gifts you can give are those you put time and effort into rather than money and money.

17. Regift

    Have a bunch of lovely scented candles under your bathroom sink from last Christmas, perhaps it’s time to wrap those up and give ‘em to all those people you just DON’T need to spend money on.

18. how much time was it worth

    Whenever I buy something, I often think to myself what it is worth in time. For example, let’s say I earn £10/hour and want to get someone a £300 Apple Watch. That’s 30 hours of work you just had to put in for that gift. Is that really sensible?

19. Use cash instead of cards

    It is so easy to spend money these days with things like PayPal and Apple Pay. If you can add friction in any way whatsoever, you should do it. One way is to only spend in cash when buying gifts in person. Handing over a thick stack of 20’s is much harder than tapping your phone.

20. Delete saved card details

    The reason for this is pretty much the same as the one above. If you actually have to re type in your deets each time you buy something online, you’re giving yourself at least a moment to reconsider the purchase.

21. Look back at last year

    If you somehow have kept the details (or just have an amazing memory) of what you spent last year, you can use that information to save money this year. Use the data to ask yourself the following quesitons:

    1. Who did I spend on last year that was unnecessary?

    2. Who did I spend too much on last year?

    3. Where can I group present’s together?

22. Start planning for next year

    That’s right, it’s NEVER too early to start getting your house in order for Christmas 2024. One of the best things you can do is now that you’ve done step 7 and step 10 this year, you can divide how much you are going to spend next year by 12 and starting putting that away each month. Thank me for the lack of headache in 12 months from now.

Damn it my hand’s hurt from all that typing.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE ✨

👋 Outro

See You Next Week

Thanks again for reading another issue. I really want to make these as good as possible for you, so as always:

PLEASE HIT "REPLY" TO THIS EMAIL WITH ANY QUESTIONS OR TOPICS YOU WOULD LIKE ME TO COVER - I WILL DO MY BEST!

Till next time!

DISCLAIMER: None of the above is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly education and should not be taken as investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and always do your own research.