Thrifty shoppers should plan a budget for Christmas ... and stick to it

WITH just a little over six weeks left until Christmas thrifty shoppers should be planning their budget. Carefully managed spending now is the key to a financially happy New Year, says  Gráinne McGuinness

The first and most important rule when planning is to start with your budget. Spending willy-nilly and then trying to figure out how to pay the bills afterwards is the road to misery. Sit down and work out how much you can afford to spend. Then decide who and what to spend your money on to have the best Christmas possible for that amount.

Write out everything you would like to get and everyone you would like to buy for. Don’t forget to include food and socialising as both eat up a lot of money around the holiday season.

Estimate what each item and gift will cost and see if the total comes inside your budget. If it does, happy days. If not, you need to prioritise. Go through the list and number in order of importance. Then start cutting, either the spend you allow for an item or cross off the item entirely.

The Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS) has a Guide to Surviving Christmas fact sheet you can download from their website that includes a planner which is perfect for this exercise. They suggest pruning your spending plan, several times if necessary, to get to a figure you know you can manage.

One of the best ways to shorten that list is to cut out unnecessary presents. No-one wants to be Scrooge, but often the people you have in mind would be equally delighted to cross you off their list. Sound out friends and colleagues and see how they react to a no-gift suggestion. If that is too severe suggest a Secret Santa and cap the spending at €10.

Secret Santa can also be the way to go between adults in extended families. Everyone gives and receives one decent gift rather than many small items. If there are lots of children involved come up with a way to limit the gifts — maybe adults only buy for godchildren rather than all the nieces and nephews. Or buy a gift per family, such as a board game. With Santa arriving children don’t need presents from everyone in their lives. Kids surrounded by countless gifts combined with stressed-out, broke adults is madness.

Once you have decided who you’re buying for and your budget, the next step is to get the best value. The golden rule is never to buy anything without checking if it can be bought more cheaply elsewhere; particularly important for bigger items.

Decide what you are going to buy; then do some research. Look at the price on the high street and online. Search for it on Amazon of course, and Irish comparison site Pricespy.ie is also worth checking. Compare toy prices at Argos, Smyths, WorldofWonder.ie and Littlewoodsireland.ie before buying. Remember to factor in delivery costs to the price of items bought online and possible taxes and duties if bought outside the EU. Always check that it will be delivered in time for Christmas; most sites will specify the latest they can guarantee delivery, but err on the side of caution if you can.

MANY of us will also be sending parcels to loved ones abroad, you can check international Christmas postal dates at anpost.ie; and also the cost of postage. Another option is to leave the delivery to experts; see our panel below for details.

Shops like Dealz and €2 stores are the place to go for stocking fillers. ‘Three for two’ sales (Boots always carries a huge range) are also good value, but only if all three items were on your plan. When you venture out have a list and stick to it; items bought on a whim or ‘just in case’ will play havoc with your budget. Groupon and other discount sites can also be a great source of gifts; from children’s activities to adult treats like a pampering session, golf outing or night away. Just check that the expiry date is far enough after Christmas to give the receiver time to use it.

Making and sticking to a plan may not feel in the spirit of the season, but will be well worth doing if it avoids you dealing with a nightmare after Christmas. Next week we look at ways to get the best value on Christmas food and drink.

DEAL OF THE WEEK

WorldBox.ie is an Irish company that aims to make shipping hassle free. The idea is simple - worldBox.ie provide free boxes, in a range of sizes. On the site, potential customers choose the size they need for the goods they want to send abroad and state where they want it sent.

WorldBox.ie will provide them with a total price that it will cost to ship there. If the customer is happy to go ahead, they can arrange for a box to be dropped to them.

They can either fill it then and there or arrange for it to be collected at a later date, all included in the price. The company promise to fit around customer’s lives and deliver and collect when it suits them - including evenings and Saturdays.

At the moment the service is primarily Leinster-based, with collection available in Dublin, Kildare, Meath and Wicklow.

But they are looking to expand into other areas, so if you are keen to use the service it is worth contacting the company at 01-8849590 so see if they can arrange a pick up from you.