7 Tips For When Christmas Finances Are Stretched

While everything else has changed this year, one thing is still rock solid and steadfast– 25 December will still be Christmas Day.

- Martin Lewis

Yet, of course, for some, it’s likely to be a very different Christmas. Perhaps though, the bronze lining to the hideous spectre of COVID-19 throughout the festive season is that it may just take off some of the cost and pressure that many feel in the run-up to the big day.

Some spend as much on Christmas festivities as on a summer holiday. It’s one of the year’s big annual expenditures, so everything you can do to lighten the load is positive. Let me run through some key thoughts about keeping Christmas finances under control when things are stretched.

1 Let the finances rule, not the festivities

Don’t sit there and design a ‘lust list’ of how to have the best possible Christmas – for most people that just leads to debt or disappointment (likely more so this year). Instead, first work out how much you’ve got to spend and ask what’s the best Christmas you can have within that budget. If you’re really struggling, and have nothing, then go cold turkey. Have fun, see family (within the Government guidelines), watch TV, but try not to spend money. Christmas is just one day. Far more important is a financially stress-free, happy New Year.

2 Make a ‘no unnecessary present’ pact