10 Last Minute Christmas Savings Tips

Written by Adrian Williams

Deck the halls with boughs of holly, tra la la la la… Wait! Don’t deck too much now! As much as we need the little Christmas cheer, we still have to make sure we have food money come January morning.  Today I have some last-minute Christmas savings tips that will preserve your cash flow but still keep you in the holiday spirit. 

I know we’re all craving some holiday cheer.  Me too! My Christmas tree has been up since early November!  But we still need to eat in January, and let’s not forget the economy is taking its time to bounce back, so taking steps to conserve your cash flow and resources should still be on the front burner. Here are ten useful  tips you can consider for the rest of the season.

#1 – Be like Santa: make a list and check it twice.

If you’ve already made a budget and are sticking to it then kudos to you.  If not, that’s fine, just get back on track. If you didn’t make one to begin with, then it’s not too late, get started right now. You’d be surprised just how much money may be flowing through your account each week that goes unnoticed simply because you’re not being strategic with your spending.  Download a budget app and use it to track your spending.  I like this one called Home Budget, which I’ve been using for years.  Every time you make a purchase, log it in the app and it will notify you when you’re approaching your spending limit. A budget helps you to avoid spending more than you plan for.  But be realistic when setting your limit. Know how much you can afford to spend. Make a list of the things you plan to buy. Set a budget for each gift and stick to it.

Tip #2… Stick to one gift per person, including yourself! 

Ok first I have a confession.  I’m that Christmas shopper that goes, oh! This handbag is so cute!  Mom would love this!  One for mom annnnd one for me!  Look at those earrings!  They’re perfect for my bestie!  One for her annnnnd for me. Stop! Stop it right now! Step away from the earrings! You’re not shopping for you.  You’re shopping for others. Christmas is the season of giving, right?

Now on the topic of spending less, here’s Tip # 3 – Watch those lights!

It is a festive time and with that comes a lot of celebrations and decorations. We’re decking the halls right?  And what better way to lift the spirit of Christmas than to ‘light it up’?  But if you must use lights, try using fewer strings to bring down that light bill. Remember those “Teacha K Light Bill Math” episodes? Yep, keep that Kilowatt hour usage down. Try to stay away especially from your ‘energy next’ which is much more expensive than your ‘energy 1st’.  Also download the JPS app to track your consumption and see exactly how much electricity you burn when those lights are plugged in. The app allows you to view your consumption hour by hour. So you could run a test – leave the Christmas lights off for one hour, then check the app to see how much your consumption was. Then turn on the lights for an hour and check the app again, and note the difference. I bet that will motivate you to be more efficient.

Still on lights… here’s tip #4, buy LED pepper lights. They’re a little bit more expensive than the regular lights, but they burn about 30% less electricity, so the extra $500 or $1000 you’ll spend is more than compensated for by the savings in your light bill!

Tip #5 – Keep the lights on an hour less.  My kids love the Christmas lights, so I’m not gonna deny them that joy, but we could just turn them on a little bit later than usual, or turn them off a little bit earlier.  And don’t forget to plug them out before you go to bed, rather than leaving them on all night. 

So what about having house parties, dinners and the whole social atmosphere with families? Well…here’s Christmas Saving Tip # 6 – Invite fewer people for Family dinners.  

The good thing is, you now have an excuse – COVID-19. The Prime Minister did say that gatherings are to be restricted to no more than 15 people both in public and private.  And while we may miss the big family dinner, it also means we get to spend less on all that food. No need to worry about a feast because our numbers would be fewer than normal.

Now here’s Tip # 7 – Regift

So you got something you didn’t like last year and it’s still there, unused in the box or whatever it came in. Give it to somebody else you think might like it! I know regifting is kinda taboo – whatever.  They’ll never know you didn’t buy it yourself. And don’t worry about offending the person who gave it to you. Letting someone else enjoy it is better than no one enjoying it and it stays there taking up space – a complete waste of someone’s money. But maybe try giving it to someone outside the gift givers circle, just in case they recognize it.

Or how about Tip #8 – give a handmade gift. Now those are gifts from the heart. My friend made these adorable crochet stuffed toys for my children, more valuable than anything she could’ve bought because of all the time and love she put into these. My daughter makes beautiful artwork that she’s gifting this Christmas, and it only costs her the price of materials.

Which leads me to Tip #9 – Buy local and support small businesses. Locally made crafts are often less expensive than imported items, not necessarily because the quality is any less, but because you don’t pay import duties.  And here’s an insider pro-tip. Small businesses that make less than J$10 million (US$70,000) per year don’t collect GCT! That means if you buy from a small business, you won’t be charged GCT, making the cost of your item cheaper. 

And finally, Christmas Saving Tip # 10 – Don’t be duped by sales

Everything is suddenly “on sale” for Christmas. This will tempt you to buy stuff you don’t need just because it’s on sale. The sale signs are also a trick to get you into the store so that you can see other things that aren’t on sale. Oh and guess what?  The after-Christmas sales are usually better anyway! Especially online.  So if you wanted stuff for yourself, wait until after Christmas.

Well, those are my top ten last-minute christmas savings tips. Do you have anymore? Comment below. Which one was your favourite?

Categories: MoneyMondaysJA