With Christmas just around the corner, www.thisismoney.co.uk is encouraging people to think about spending their money wisely during the Christmas season during this very difficult economic time.
• Get the right Christmas Card - Getting the right credit card can save you cash
• Budget – Set yourself a realistic budget, and stick to it
• Don’t leave it to the last minute – Panicking around the shops at the last minute means you’re more likely to throw money at the problem
• Use the net – avoid the crush hour crowds and save a penny too
• Store card scrooges – Stay away from the Christmas card scrooges. Store cards charge you around 8% more than you would pay on an average credit card
• Guard your Xmas gifts – The number of domestic burglaries soars over Christmas, take precautions and check your insurance policy
• The pen is mightier than the card - Dull but it works. Write down EVERTYHING you spend money on in the run-up to Christmas
• Stop hoarding – The days of living beyond our means are well and truly in the past. The current economic climate illustrates the problems of spending what we don’t have and often for things we don’t need.
• Get out and walk - Deliver as many cards as possible by hand. It’ll help burn off that turkey, mince pies, wine, chocolate…
• Don’t fall for the January sales trick – With money being tight throughout 208, chances are it will be water tight after Christmas. Bargain hunters heading for the sales should beware the tricks that retailers are using to part them from their money, make sure that everything that is pitched as a bargin is actually a bargin!
• Keep a cool head - It's easy to get carried away in the run-up to Christmas. Twinkling lights, jolly jingles and the general air of cheer in stores are all designed to help part you from your cash and it can be a hard balancing act between being generous and being prudent
• Next year! – start planning for 2009 straight away. Check out thisismoney.co.uk for your January survival guide