Jasmine Birtles
Your money-making expert. Financial journalist, TV and radio personality.
Shop NOW to Save Hundreds of Pounds for Christmas!
Reading Time: 5 minutesYes, really. The sun might be beating down, but summer can be a great time to start thinking about the most glorious (and expensive) time of year. You can literally save hundreds of pounds if you start some gentle Christmas planning at this time of year. Here, we’ll tell you how…
- How Do People Do It?
- Use the Summer Sales to Stock Up
- Pick Up Gifts Throughout the Year
- Where to Find Online Discount Codes
- Use Cashback Sites to Save More Money
- One Final Tip…
How do people do it?
Let’s start with a few real-life examples, just to prove that you really can save money this way.
As reported in the Mirror, one savvy mum picked up £700 worth of toys for £200 this summer, thanks to a giant summer clearance sale at Argos. Her scoop included a doll’s house, plus monster trucks and cars. The toy haul even managed to set her up for the two birthdays she still had to buy for this year, aside from Christmas.
Another popped to Asda and spent £80, ticking ALL her Christmas gifts off along the way and even starting preparation for her daughter’s 2021 birthday at the same time.
We know – this organisation is pretty astonishing. Bravo, those women.
Clearly, there are big savings to be had here. You need to make sure these are items that you actually want to give, though. Ask yourself whether what you’re buying will still be in fashion and/or will still pique your kids’ interests by the winter. There’s little point getting ahead if you wouldn’t have bought those items anyway, or if you’re going to have to replace them in a few months’ time!
Use the summer sales to stock up
You’ll likely have noticed that sales seem to crop up a lot. Retailers always want to shift stock at the end of a season, before their new ranges come in, which means the late summer (before autumn arrives) is a great time for a Christmas gift haul. Remember mid-season sales too, though – autumn stock will be going cheap in a couple of month’s time, before the Christmas lines take over the shelves. Look at when these sales are likely to be at your favourite retailers, and get it there early before the good stuff gets snapped up.
Due to the pandemic, lots of shops are also running closing down sales. You can nab real bargains here – but make sure it’s something you want, need, and is not faulty or broken. You won’t be able to return it when the shop shuts forever!
Pick up gifts throughout the year
One of our favourite ways to spread the cost of Christmas through the year is to buy presents for people when you see them, rather than putting the whole idea of Christmas out of our heads until December.
So, spotted a book that your dad/gran/cousin would love in February? Or the toy your kids have been asking for in June? A scarf that your gran would love, appearing on the rack in August? We’ve perfected the art of snapping these bargains up when we see them, rather than waiting, and stashing them all in a big box. The summer and mid-season sales can be a great time to do this too.
In a similar vein, you could allocate a budget per-person for the annual Christmas spend. Make sure you include the cost of things like Christmas dinner, too! Work out your total Christmas budget this way, then divide it by 11. That’s how much you need to save each month from January to November – so December doesn’t shock your bank account!
Where to find online discount codes
Luckily in the UK, discount code websites are ten-a-penny. Use them to save hundreds of pounds on high street retailers, and stash the presents away so prying eyes can’t spy them until you’re good and ready!
Some sites to consider include:
- www.latestdeals.co.uk/ – this site has discounts on everything from beauty products to kid’s tents, bikes, clothes, and colourful stationary
- www.offeroftheday.co.uk/ – a regularly updating site with numerous offers. When we looked there were major savings to be had on tech, handbags, garden furniture, kid’s toys, clothes and interior items
- www.hotukdeals.com/ – computer games, sportswear, games consoles and even cars (!) were listed on Hot UK Deals when we checked it out, offering savings of (quite literally) thousands
- www.vouchercodes.co.uk/ – one of the UK’s biggest discount code sites. Voucher Codes is packed with offers from household name brands. When we looked we spotted Ted Baker, Currys PC World, Very, Ann Summers, Joules, Missguided, Gap and Jigsaw with discounts of up to 70%, and that was only on page one!
- discountcode.mirror.co.uk/ – newspaper sites are great for discount codes too. The Mirror stood out to us, with codes available for the likes of Boden, Boots, Jet2, Next and Nike
These are just a few of the discount sites that are just waiting to save you hundreds of pounds. Get ahead of the game and Christmas 2020 could end up being your most cost-effective ever…
Use cashback sites to save more money
Different to discount code sites are those that offer you cashback on money spent. There are a few of these, and they can offer you great savings – so it’s a great idea to sign up ahead of an expensive occasion like Christmas.
How do they work? Cashback sites work on an affiliate agreement between the host site and the retailer, meaning a percentage of the amount you pay is returned to you afterwards. All sites have different terms and the time it’ll take for you to be paid back varies, so make sure you do your homework!
In the meantime, here are a couple of our favourites:
- www.quidco.com – QuidCo is one of the UK’s biggest cashback sites, with retailers including Very, 02, eBay and Look Fantastic amongst the 4500+ that have signed up to work with them
- www.topcashback.co.uk – Another big and reliable site, TopCashback users get an average of £345 back every year. That’s enough to buy approximately 18 Christmas turkeys. Nice work if you can get it!
…and it doesn’t stop with this, either!
No, you won’t find them in the summer – but file this one for later. We’re big fans of snapping up reduced Christmas cards, wrapping paper, crackers and other festive paraphernalia once January rolls around. Once Christmas is over, prices are slashed – often immediately. Throw those discount Christmas hosting essentials into your shopping trolley when the new year rolls around, and you’ll save yourself an absolute bundle. Just stash them under the bed or in a cupboard until Christmas appears again. Don’t forget where you’ve put them, though!
Are you a thrifty shopper who starts preparing for Christmas whilst the sun is still shining? Have you managed to save hundreds of pounds on Christmas shopping, or even thousands? We’d love to hear how you did it. Let us know over on the forums…
Now read:
- Get Ahead on Your Christmas Savings Now!
- How to Make Money from Unwanted Christmas Presents
- Is Black Friday a Con? 5 Reasons to Beware of Black Friday Sales
- Car Boot Sales: Turn Your Trash Into Cash
Some great ideas, and an article that has got me excited about Christmas!