How To Save For Christmas In Australia
Christmas is just around the corner, and for a lot of us that means our savings account is going to take a hit. The festive season can feel quite stressful if you don’t have the money to cover additional expenses. So we’ve put together a few saving tips to make your gift shopping less stressful.
Overview
Tips for Saving Money For Christmas Spending
Start a Christmas Savings Account
A good first step to start your Christmas saving journey is to set up a Christmas savings account. With a dedicated saving account for your Christmas spending money, you can ensure that you have enough funds for food, gifts, and travel when December arrives.
Our Santa Saver Account is the perfect savings account for your Christmas savings. The money that you put into your Santa Saver Account will be made available from November , ensuring that your Christmas funds aren’t accidentally spent before the big day.
It can also be a good idea to set up an automatic transfer to help build up your savings balance. This way you can sit back and relax while your savings balance grows. Your Christmas shopping no longer needs to be stressful as you will have money saved for each gift or expense.
Set a Christmas Budget
It might seem like an obvious thing, but you’d be surprised at how many people don’t set or stick to a Christmas budget. Creating a budget will help you work out how much you can spend on each person’s gift and make sure you have enough left over for your other holiday expenses, like decorations, travel, time off work or festive food and drink. If you need help you can always use a budget planner and an expenses planner to calculate how much spare cash you can put towards your Christmas costs.
Avoiding Impulse Purchases
This one can be a little tricky, especially if you’re someone who loves to give gifts. And with all the holiday sales around it’s hard to resist the discounts. But too many impulse purchases can push you over budget and your spending may end up outweighing what you save.
Try planning out your purchases for each person so you can get a clear picture of what you’re purchasing and how much you’re spending. Sticking to this plan will help keep your spending under control.
Buy For Less People
Cutting down the number of people you buy gifts for can be another great way to save some money this Christmas. An easy way to do this is to start doing Secret Santa with your friends and family. Setting a spending limit for everyone can ensure you stay within a reasonable price range too.
Use Cash Instead of Credit
It can be tempting to whip out the credit card when you’re low on cash, especially around Christmas. But this can land you with a very large credit card bill and will likely end up costing you more in interest charges if you can’t pay off your balance. A better approach is only to spend money you can afford to live without. Withdrawing your Christmas money can be helpful because you can physically see how much you’re spending, and how much you have left.
Instead of relying on credit cards try using a savings goal calculator to work out how much you need to put aside to reach your goal. Breaking it down into manageable weekly deposits can make it less overwhelming and feel more achievable.
Make Homemade Gifts
If you’re a DIY kind of person, making homemade gifts can save money and give your gifts a personal touch. From homemade candles to baking Christmas cookies, there are plenty of options for various skill levels - so don’t worry if you’re not creatively inclined.
You could even give the gift of your time instead of spending money on a gift. Make personalised coupons for things like a night of babysitting, an afternoon of gardening, or a home-cooked meal and massage, and give them to your friends and family.
Shop The Sales
Waiting until things on your Christmas gift list go on sale (think Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales) will help keep your spending to a minimum. As we’ve already mentioned, you shouldn’t go overboard with impulse purchases. But for the things you’ve planned to purchase, don’t be afraid to shop around and find the lowest price. A lot of retailers will price match if you see an item at a lower price elsewhere - so keep this in mind.
You can also find some really good bargains online, you’ll just need to make your purchases early enough for your gifts to arrive in time. And try to be mindful of shipping costs when shopping online. These can quickly add up and eat into the savings you're getting from the sales.
Buy Quality Over Quantity
Instead of trying to buy your friends and family a lot of gifts, aim for one meaningful gift they’ll appreciate. When it comes to gift giving we tend to think that more is more, and often forget to consider what the person really wants or needs. This can be especially true when shopping for gifts for children. By focusing your gift-giving energy on getting your loved ones presents they will actually enjoy and use, you can reduce your overall costs for Christmas.
Need some more help?
Christmas should be a time for celebrating and spending time with your loved ones, not stressing about finances. Keep these saving tips in mind so you can start this festive season off right.
If you have any questions or would like to learn more about our Santa Saver Account feel free to contact us. You can also reach out to the Salvation Army if you need support purchasing food or gifts this festive season.
FAQ
What is a good amount to save for Christmas?
It’s difficult to say exactly how much you should save for Christmas because it really depends on your financial situation. Try to work out all the costs you’ll have over Christmas and then divide that amount over the time remaining until Christmas. You can also use the above tips to help lower your costs and keep your spending under control.
What is the 5 rule for Christmas?
The 5 rule is a Christmas gift-giving approach that encourages you to be more mindful when purchasing gifts for your loved ones. When using the 5 gift rule you should only buy a maximum of 5 gifts for each person and they should be:
something they want
something they need
something to wear
something to read
something to experience
If the item you’re thinking of purchasing doesn’t fit into one of these categories, or if you’ve already bought something in that category, don’t buy it.
What is the average Christmas budget per child?
According to a survey conducted in 2021 by Canstar Blue parents spent an average amount of $399 per child at Christmas. Parents with children aged 5-12 spent an average of $310 per child, and an average of $304 per teenage child. While parents with children under 5 had an average spend of $297 per child.
These figures don’t reflect the actual amount you should be spending on your children. Always be mindful of your financial situation and only spend what you can afford.