Be prepared – download our Christmas Budget Planner

Have you started planning what you need to buy and – most importantly – how much you can afford to spend this festive season?

With lights now adorning the town centre, it’s a good time to start planning, if you haven’t already.

We’ve created a Christmas Budget Planner to help you work out exactly what food, gifts and other seasonal must-haves you’ll need to buy over the coming weeks.

Decorations, wrapping paper, Christmas cards, gifts for family and friends, trips to the pantomime or ice rink, Christmas dinner ingredients, chocolates and other festive snacks – it all adds up, and it doesn’t take long for seasonal spending to get out of control.

Although it’s possible for Christmas spending to be scaled back – Secret Santa can replace individual gifts, while lunch doesn’t have to be turkey and all the trimmings – a recent national survey found the average UK household is projected to spend £1,626.46 on Christmas.

Avoiding the financial hit of paying for everything in December is always a sensible idea, and many of you may have already started your shopping, to spread the cost.

To help you with both your festive preparations and money management, we’ve created a Christmas budget planner, which includes a breakdown of many Christmas items that you may need to buy and some tips on how to keep the cost down.

Some other tips to remember at this time of year are:

• Don’t forget your everyday bills still need paying.  

• Check and track prices using sites such as camelcamelcamel.com who monitor Amazon prices throughout the year. 

• Don’t rely on an overdraft or borrow from unauthorised lenders. 

• Always buy from a reputable company and do your research.   

• Postage costs can be high - why not consider delivering some of your local cards by hand?

• Annual Black Friday sales start in stores and online over the coming weeks – use price-tracker websites to see if they’re really a bargain.

• Sign up to store newsletters and follow your favourite brands on social media to see their offers and discounts.

• If you’ve got a store account or membership which offers loyalty points, now’s the time to cash them in.   

• Posting parcels abroad will add to your costs. Consider buying from stores (usually online) that offer free delivery directly to the present recipient.

• If you have some of your budget left over, why not buy next year’s gifts, cards or wrapping paper in the January sales.

• To help the environment and your budget, buy brown paper rather than expensive Christmas paper. You can make it personal by decorating it by hand.   

• Take advantage of retailers, both in-store and online, offering a free gift-wrapping service.

Download our Christmas Budget Planner here.