Save Money This Christmas

This is a guest post by Money Super Market.

Christmas is definitely the time of year when our pockets will feel a lot lighter! Billions of dollars are spent throughout the world during the November/December months and this year will be no different. However, with the current financial climate the way that it is, many people may be looking spend less than normal in the run up to Christmas 2010. Here’s five key money saving tips that can be applied to the Christmas holidays:

• Set up your Christmas Budget early! – Christmas budgeting is essential to monitor how your much you have spent during the Christmas period. When used correctly, a budget can be one of the most effective financial tools Take your time and basically create a giant Christmas list, write down everything that you will spend money on in the months to come, including the obvious presents, decorations and food.
• Never spend more than you can afford – This is probably the cardinal sin that many people will admit to doing at one time or another, but at Christmas it can be incredibly damaging. Remember it’s not how much you spend on presents that matters, it’s the thought behind the presents that counts. If you do spend more than you can afford to, you will regret doing so in the long run when you have a backlog of bills to deal with.
• Stay away from credit and store cards – Following on my previous point, over the Christmas months, many people choose to fund their purchases on credit or store cards because they can’t afford them. At the time this might seem like a feasible option, however depending on how much you spend, you may be paying the amount back for months to come. Don’t just think about the present but think about the future.
• Compare prices this year – When you identify what present you want and for whom; don’t just buy the item the first place that you find it. Take your time and search online to try and find the best possible prices. You could also use price comparison sites like MoneySupermarket to help you to find the cheapest price available online.
• Save money for next Christmas – I know this isn’t strictly for this Christmas, but it’s good to think ahead! Hopefully you already did this for this year but to make sure you have enough funds to cover Christmas, you should really be thinking ahead and saving well in advance. I save well in advance by setting up automatic payments; a small amount leaves my bank account each month and goes into a savings account that I have set up especially for special occasions.