Saving at Christmas: Our Top 5 Xmas Budgeting Tips

Christmas can be a stressful time for any family, particularly for those worrying about whether they’re going to have enough money to pay for everything. From Christmas dinner to presents for your loved ones – it can feel like there’s a lot of pressure to overspend so that everyone can have a perfect day.

Here are some of our top tips to help take the edge off so you can concentrate on having a good time with your family and friends…

1. Stay within your budget
   Of course, this is easier said than done – we know. It’s so important for us, especially at this time of year, to protect our mental health for the coming year by not saddling ourselves with debt we can’t afford to pay off. If you have to buy anything on credit, only purchase on 0% finance or 0% credit cards, but try to only spend money you have because it will only have a knock-on effect on your new year.

   1. Buy second-hand gifts
      31% of Brits plan on buying pre-owned or refurbished gifts this Christmas to be more environmentally friendly and avoid waste – and save their pennies while they’re doing it!  There are some incredible almost-new finds on the likes of eBay and Facebook marketplace (remember to never send any money over Facebook marketplace until you’ve received your goods, to avoid getting scammed). Don’t forget – there’s always the old faithful charity shop to hunt for some bargains and don’t be embarrassed to regift things that you won’t use (everyone does it!)

   1. Make a ‘no gifts’ pact (or set a spending limit!)
      If you feel under pressure to get someone a gift when you’d rather not, you could make a promise with your friends, family, and colleagues to not buy each other gifts this year. That way you take the stress off the both of you. If this seems like a bit too extreme, you could agree to put a cap on your upper spending limit e.g. only spend £10

   1. Use price comparison sites
      It pays to hunt around! Whatever it is you’re buying – from toys to books to electricals – have a search online for the best price. There are some handy tools out there for just about everything, simply search ‘price comparison’ and the item you’re looking for and you should be able to find where the best place to buy that from is going to be. A little bit of extra time can save you a lot of money.

   1. Save on the big appliances – rent instead of buy!
      When it comes to Christmastime, the last thing we need is our pricy household appliances, like our ovens and TVs, failing on us just when we need them most. Don’t panic, and definitely don’t take out a big loan to buy a brand-new appliance! Consider appliance rental, giving you the option to pay weekly for your cooker or TV so you don’t put yourself in debt just to get through Christmas.

Pay weekly cookers and TVs are a great option if you’re worried about your credit. It is possible to find places out there allowing you to rent appliances with no credit check. Here at hiya! we offer cheap weekly Smart TV hire without a credit check – we only do an affordability check so no hard searches that can damage your credit score.

Find out more about hiya! and please don’t hesitate to contact our friendly team if you have any questions about our Smart TV rental options. From everyone here at hiya! we hope you have a wonderful Christmas!