That means family, it means happy kids, warm fires, maybe even some rich chocolate pudding if we’ve been good boys and girls this year.
Rich, lovely and disturbingly calorific pudding aside, something that we think we can all relate to is the fact that Christmas, for all it’s joys — is expensive. And we mean a holiday in the Bahamas expensive. It’s not our fault, who else will buy the right things? Not Grandma and her socks… You will, and you pride yourself on it!
After all, we are all on a little bit of a budget this year as that special time approaches. But really, that doesn’t matter, we refuse to buy socks for anyone that doesn’t deserve (or want) them. That just won’t do. So, in the hearty spirit of giving (a bit early perhaps) we here thought that we’d kick off the Xmas shopping season with a few very helpful tips that will save you a little money and a lot of stress.
1. Never, ever impulse buy anything. We’re serious.
I’m looking at you, yes you. We all know the story… Scrolling through a website, maybe just window shopping in a high-street, and suddenly into view, in glorious technicolor, pops that item. An object of perfect undisputed beauty that just perfectly fits someone to the tee. How on earth is it so damn good? We have no idea, but we have to have it. Butterflies in stomach, we lurch toward the shopping assistant waving cold cash in hand and screaming for it. Well, maybe it’s not that bad, but it feels that way. One hefty receipt later, maybe it’s not looking so good as a family of £20’s nestled neatly into our pocket would. Phaa, but it looked so… Immaculate at the time! No, it was just a trick of the eye.
Get a refund, waste money on fuel, throw away time packing something up… Or just live with this hideous mistake of a purchase…
Neither. Use this checklist when buying something and this will never happen to you again. Write these things down and stuff it into your back pocket to pull out any time you’re out big-buying.
Take notes, we want to see a pen and paper here. You will be tested.
- Is it something that will be used?
- Does it fit the purpose or person?
- Is it really worth that much?
- Can you get it cheaper somewhere else?
Here’s an example. You’re in town and you spot a stunning print of a popular and well loved piece of art. You know just the person who would love it. So, here we go:
- Is it something that will be used? – Yes, they love art, I even know where they’ll hang it, I’m that damn good.
- Does it fit the purpose or person? – Indeed! He loves this artist and so does his wife, it’s all they talk about. Ever. Seriously, it’s quite annoying.
- Is it really worth that much? – It’s well priced, it’s pretty big and well made. The quality is great, so yes.
- Can you get it cheaper somewhere else? – I’ll just check Amazon… And no, here is better. Awesome.
Done, purchase made and quality assured. Use this method and we guarantee you will save money. Lots of lovely money.
2. Group your shopping together in loads.
Online, this can save you an impressive amount of cash. Because here’s the thing; many websites actually make quite a lot by over-charging you for P&P. Sneaky, disgraceful, bit of a dirty secret I know, but the truth nonetheless. It’s just business after all, and they like cash as much as us.
You’re online. Like any decent modern technological Santa does, you get exactly the right presents for exactly the right people.
Problem is, postage and packaging costs the earth. Especially during the Christmas season. You want to reduce that heavy charge?
After all, it’s just cardboard and a stamp.
Try this. Some, if not most popular shopping sites will occasionally have offers which essentially let you group all your items together for one tidy fee. Say £5.99 perhaps. Consider it this way; buying 4 items seperately for £3.99 P&P or just pay once and get them all at the same time? That means less waiting around the house, extra bonus. Plus it’s cheaper? Tell me more!
These companies hate the amount of cash that goes into transporting your goods all over the country. If they can make it in just one trip, it’s going to save time and fuel, and those savings will be passed on to you, the good customer. Lucky us.
This can also be helpful when high-street shopping, especially if you have to pay a bus fare or take a car.
Write yourself a list of exactly what you want to get, or at least who you need to buy for. Make the trip and go all out on covering all bases and aiming to complete the list in one big hit. Drain the stores, empty the shelves and wrack the minds of every single shopping assistant until you have succesfully filled out that list of everyone who ever needed a trinket or new jumper. Then have a coffee and soak up your magnificent feat of efficiency. Bask in the warm glow of a gingerbread latte.
3. Be wary of the prices on the high street!
We all enjoy taking our kids into town and letting them excitedly pick out whatever they want this year. The excitement, the joy of getting what you want and knowing that you’ll be able to play with it in just a few weeks. However, the what the kids don’t know is how much these things cost. Toys nowadays, and especially the technology orientated kind, are very expensive on the highstreet.
We often found that the same item can cost up to 50% more when it’s in a shop window than it would if it were online. There are a few reasons for this. The first is that when actually in a shop, it’s difficult to know where else we can buy the thing. This means that we have no idea how much it costs anywhere else, so we assume the pricing is fair, especially if there are lots of red ‘sale’ banners everywhere. The second is that these stores, especially those inside the centre of a city or more well of town – have a lot of rent to pay. And they pay this rent by hiking up the prices of goods which you eventually pay for. We don’t like paying other people’s rent.
When you think you want something, especially if it’s a bigger purchase, it may be worth a little comparison before grabbing it off the shelves. This could save you more even more money than the group shopping lesson in part 2. Think of the big purchase as a sofa.
Compare, compare compare.
4. Look for the offers in life.
Nothing is ever totally free, but when something comes close, you gotta get it.
Christmas sales are everywhere, and it’s your job to grab them up before someone less deserving does. This works best if you are buying things for people who have not asked for a specifc gift. With this method, you can get some absolutely fantastic, great quality stuff for a price which both you and your pocket can appreciate. Look for the red banners, the big yellow signs. We know the drill.
A word on sales though.
Be aware that although an item may be on sale, it could still be well above what you might be paying somewhere else, at say an outlet store. A lot of the time, just a quick jump online though your smartphone will help you make a much more informed decision over the pricing of the item.
5. Don’t get too worried about it all.
Christmas is a fun time of year where we kick back and enjoy just being part of a family, seeing our friends and going to parties. It should’t be stressful, so don’t let the pressure of gift giving get you down and feeling annoyed. After all, giving is something kind and fufilling, not something to bite nails about. If you don’t find what you want, don’t worry – it’ll be online or even just in another store.
The mistake that is often made, especially toward the last few weeks before the big day, is a rush that ends up with us buying something that we don’t really want and feeling that it was our only option. It’s not. Take your time, start early and enjoy the Christmas spirit. It’ll help us all as people who have stressful enough lives already and ultimately our wallets as well. There’s enough serious deadlines in life to be making our own.