Whilst Christmas is an exciting and fun-filled time of year for many people it can also fill many people with dread, particularly in the current climate where money has been really tight for so many households.
The big day is now fast approaching and many people will already be panicking about the fact that they haven’t yet bought their Christmas gifts and about how they will be able to afford all the gifts that they need to buy.
Whilst there is no doubt that buying Christmas gifts for friends and loved ones can be a very expensive affair there are ways in which you can reduce the amount that you spend on presents without necessarily having to kick a few names off your Christmas presents list.
It is important to remember that in the current financial climate, with the economy still dragging its feet, retailers are keen to try and drum up business and increase sales, and in many cases this means dropping prices significantly to get Christmas shoppers through the door.
Look out for sales days
A number of major retailers have been having special days and weekends where customers can get a percentage off the goods that they buy on the specified days. For example, BHS recently held a weekend where customers could enjoy 20 percent off their bill, and for those spending a few hundred pounds on gifts for Christmas this can amount to a tidy sum.
Many retailers will be holding these special ‘money of’ days in the run up to Christmas, so avoid doing your Christmas shopping on just any old day and hold out for these special event days when you can get money off your purchases. A similar scheme has been launched by Boots, where customers can enjoy 1200 points, worth £12, for every £50 that they spend.
Get three for two gifts
Many retailers, including some of the major supermarkets, now offer three for two gifts, and this means that if you buy 3 gifts from the specified range, which are usually marked with a sticker to signify that they are part of the promotion, you get the cheapest one for free, so you will only actually pay for two gifts out of every three that you buy.
This is a great way to get a third of your Christmas gifts absolutely free and you can save a tidy sum on the overall cost of your shop this way. Retailers such as Boots, Superdrug, and even Tesco have been successfully running this scheme for a few years, and it has proven very popular amongst savvy shoppers.
Do your Christmas shopping online
You will often find that there are many bargains to be had online that simply cannot be found in the High Street, and the Internet also offers an array of more unusual gifts as well as offering some huge discounts and affordable gift ideas. Take a look online to see if you can get your gifts via the Internet, as this could save you time and hassle as well as money, and you won’t have to worry about the queues in the shops!
