Christmas should be a relaxing time spent with loved ones, treating those dearest to you and making the most of the festivities. However, sometimes it can be a daunting time of year, especially if you have lots of gifts to buy or festive nights out planned.
Over a third of Brits borrow money to help pay for Christmas gifts – that’s over 16 million of us each year. Unfortunately, this can lead to many people starting a new year in financial difficulty or mounting debt.
Vox Money is here to ho ho help! We’ve compiled simple money-saving challenges to take the stress out of the holidays and make sure you can start 2022 with a healthy bank balance.
Now September is upon us, it is the perfect time to save money for Christmas. There are just over three months until the big day – and that means three more paydays!
Christmas Savings Plan
Saving £100
Every little helps during the Christmas period and £100 can go a long way to purchasing that all-important Christmas day dinner or the toy your little one is desperate for Father Christmas to deliver!
Start off with a small savings challenge that won’t impact your daily and weekly spend too much. During September, October and the first half of November, save £1 per day – increase this to £2 per day for the final 2 weeks of the Christmas money challenge and you will have bagged yourself over £100.
Saving £200
£200 could get your partner that gift they’ve been hinting about for weeks, so consider saving £20 a week over three months to ensure you have over £200 at the end of November.
Saving £500
If you want to create a show-stopping Christmas and need the funds to do it, try our £500 money-saving challenge. This splits your savings into a Week 1 and Week 2 plan to help lessen the impact on your weekly budget.
Week 1
Day 1 – £1
Day 2 – £2
Day 3 – £3
Day 4 – £4
Day 5 – £5
Day 6 – £6
Day 7 – £7
Week 2
Day 1 – £2
Day 2 – £4
Day 3 – £6
Day 4 – £8
Day 5 – £10
Day 6 – £12
Day 7 – £14
How to save money for Christmas
Now you know how much money you can save before the holiday season, we’ve provided some handy hints and tips on how to save that cash and make the most of the income you already have.
No spend days
Some days it can feel like you never stop spending, from bills and groceries to petrol. But, consider having at least one or two days each week where you don’t spend anything. It might be harder than you think!
Home cooking
It’s so easy to be tempted by a hard-earned takeaway at the weekend or a quick meal deal on your lunch break. But, all these small costs can start to mount up and cost you hundreds of pounds a month. While you save for Christmas, consider meal prepping lunch and dinners and avoiding takeaways. Save your money and your waistline!
Unnecessary purchases
We’ve all been there – a quick takeaway coffee on the commute to help start the day. But by avoiding expensive coffees every day you can actually save an estimated £60 per month. Consider removing any habitual purchases such as these to put towards your Christmas savings.
Open a savings account
It may sound simple, but without anywhere to save your cash it might make your challenge that bit harder.
With a Vox Money account, you can put all your savings into a wallet, designed not to be used unless you want to access your savings. This helps to keep it out of sight and safe from any impulse buys.
Once you are signed up to a Vox Money account you will also get exclusive access to our reward partner offers, providing cashback when you spend at a range of stores including Asda, Sainsbury’s, New Look, Ernest Jones, H Samuel and many more!
Make the most of our budgeting tools and reward offers for a bigger and better Christmas this year! Sign up for a Vox Money card to get started and put those money worries behind you.
