Dream of a Free Christmas
The question most people ask from early November onwards, ‘what do you want for Christmas?’
Want to know what I want? I want to get through my first Christmas ever without going into debt. No credit cards or overdraft to be used this year.
This may not seem very festive, but honestly, why is buying things that people don’t really want or need seen as a good thing? Particularly when most of us can’t afford what we’re buying and go headlong into debt.
The British Retail Consortium estimated that an extra £11billion was spent of presents, decorations and food last year. That’s on top of our normal spending habits, an EXTRA £11 billion!!!
Everyone wants to do their best for their family, especially at Christmas , with Christmas Day estimated to cost every household £975. No wonder some people find it hard to avoid getting into debt at this time of year.
So how can you save money and stop setting yourself up for a New Year cash crisis?
Remember also, this year environmental issues really were highlighted and one of the most wasteful times of year is Christmas. Just think about the mountain of trash that accumulates before, during and after the day. so anything you can do to save yourself will also help save the planet, so think BIG!
Christmas cards are lovely to receive but they are usually torn down shortly after Boxing Day and consigned to the bin – UK bins are filled with over 1 billion cards every year! So send ecards, no postage costs and no waste.
Eight million Christmas trees, generating 12,000 tonnes of rubbish are thrown away every New Year in Britain, so let’s not add to that rubbish pile. Instead, gather longish twigs from your local park, dry them out and bind them together with silver twine. Decorated with last year’s baubles, it will look like an artistic and unique festive decoration to place in your home.
Gifts are tricker but can be done. I make a habit of keeping the gifts that I receive that are not really to my taste and regifting, ie.giving them to someone I believe would appreciate them more. However there are other ways of grabbing new items also without spending lots of money.
There are lots of new swap shop style sites, there’s one that specialising in video and computer games. You could also try ebay to sell your unwanted items and to purchase low cost gifts for family.
An alternative is to get together with friends to swap that those things you had to have, things that you never used and are just sitting taking up space in your home. So, swap them and you may gain something that someone else may like to receive. I have a juicer, a memorystick cum mp3 player and and a set of wine tasting glasses that have never been out of their box, and I’m hoping when I meet with my friends they’ll have something that I can exchange for these items.
This is not the most chic Christmas shopping you’ll ever do, but one’s things for sure, you won’t break the bank, and this year, that’s especially important.
Let Me Eat Cake! 