Archive: MoneySavingExpert's Money Tips Email

Ho, ho... oh no!
100 days till Chr******. Martin's 15 do-nows to cut cost & stress then. Early preparation, not celebration

Incl... New. £200 FREE cash | Toy sales on NOW | Money-making tips | Discount code secrets | Ban unnecessary prezzies | £500 of cashback freebies

Sorry to use the C word so early, I hate baubles and Bublé before Bonfire Night as much as the next Scrooge. Yet this isn't about early celebration; there are just 100 days (well, 99) to Christmas, and as the average family spends 30% more in December, it's a financial event that needs planning & prep.

So here's my list of key need-to-knows and need-dos now to make it easier for Christmas (many of the tips also work if, like me, you celebrate Chanukah, or owt else).

1. There's still time to spread the cost to ease the pain. Rather than shelling out the estimated typical £700 Christmas cost from December's income, if you haven't put any aside yet, try to squeeze a quarter of what's needed from your Sept, Oct and Nov income too. Plus, put it in top savings to EARN interest when you do; that's far better than getting into Christmas debt and having to PAY interest on it afterwards.

2. New. FREE £200 in time for Christmas. One way to help pay for the day is to grab a legal bribe to switch bank. A flurry of new deals have just popped out, many that are top rated.

Switching is usually easy & hassle-free... You must pass a not-too-harsh credit-check and use the banks' 7-working-day switch service, which closes your old account, moves over your balance, standing orders and Direct Debits for you, and auto-forwards any payments made to it from then on.

3. TOY SALES come early - on now at Tesco, Asda and The Entertainer. If you know what your kids want, the Tesco half-price toy sale is on now, as is up to 50% off at The Entertainer, and there's an Asda 'rollback' - and that's no surprise. At this time of year we usually see toy sales from these retailers, and likely to come are ones at Argos, Morrisons and more - often it's when they do their cheapest pre-Christmas prices. The MSE Deals team are scouring for these, and I've asked them to ensure we let you know via this email each week.

4. New. FREE £30 Amazon voucher from a bank, but you NEEDN'T switch to get it. Open a new Santander Everyday*, Edge* or Edge Up* current account via these specific links, and even if you don't switch your main bank to it, you'll get a link to claim a £30 Amazon voucher by email after 17 Nov (if not, check your spam folder). You don't have to do anything other than open the account to get the voucher (though you will be credit-checked).

Are the accounts any good? The Everyday* account is Santander's bog-standard fee-free account. Edge* is a top (joint) bills account, it costs £3/mth but most get far more back, as it pays 1% cashback (max £10/mth) on Council Tax, water, energy, broadband and other bills you pay from it via Direct Debit. It also gives you a debit card with near-perfect exchange rates abroad, so it can be very useful to run alongside your main account(s). Full info in our Santander Edge review, which also includes info on the souped-up Edge Up version.

5. Now's the moment to discuss with friends & family if you're all BANNING unnecessary Christmas presents. Many spend far too much money, time, effort and stress buying people things they don't want or need in a tit-for-tat (especially tat) Christmas giving extravaganza, leaving too much ending up in landfill.

Now to be clear, this isn't about gifts for kids or spouses. It's about agreeing with the ever-extending list of friends, colleagues, classmates and family to release each other from the obligation of reciprocal buying - or just do a secret Santa or donate to charity.

Most people tell me when they broach this with friends or family, people breathe a collective sigh of relief. Read the full theory, and how to do it in my now-ancient ban unnecessary Christmas gifts blog, or watch my video explainer below, which goes viral most years...

6. Abandon ye shopping basket, all those who (press) enter. If you've an account at an online retailer and put something in your basket, but then don't complete the transaction, many retailers have conniptions! They think "we almost closed the deal, we need to get 'em back," so may send you a specific discount code to try to do that.

So with lots of time to go before the festivities, you can turn this on its head - just log in, put what you want in the basket, then walk away to see if they give you a discount code. See our full list of retailers the 'abandoned basket' trick's worked with.

We've had huge success with this over the years, with Whirley saying on Facebook: "I frequently leave items in my basket and get emails saying they are now reduced. I saved £30 on a kitchen bin with Amazon."

7. Don't have a festive lust list, do a budget now and start with that. I should've started with this, but I worry it'd put too many off. Many people plan Christmas the wrong way round; they do it by coming up with a lust list of everything they want for perfect festivities, then work out 'how the heck will I afford that?' It's a recipe for debt or disappointment. 

Instead, let the finances lead. Spend a little time now to budget what you can comfortably afford on Christmas, then ask: "How do I have the best time on that amount?"

And if you're shouting back: "Yeah right, I can't afford anything", do listen to yourself (and try some of the money-making tips here), take a deep breath and possibly consider going spending cold-turkey this year... Christmas is just one day, don't give yourself an awful New Year with a financial hangover due to it.

8. Get an instant 6% BOOST on your Christmas supermarket spending. Digital saving stamp schemes from Tesco, Asda, Iceland, Sainsbury's, Co-op and Morrisons aim to encourage year-long saving for Christmas (see full scheme-by-scheme info). Yet the way they're usually structured means there's a loophole where you can just put the money in on one day to get the bonus instantly. See our supermarket Christmas savings schemes for a full run-through.

9. Gift vouchers can be a festive nightmare - be careful. Many find giving a gift card more socially acceptable than cash - I get it, cash gifts just aren't very British! Yet unfortunately, vouchers have risks.

- If the store goes bust, gift vouchers usually become worthless.
- Many have expiry dates, which often aren't made that clear. See our table of when stores' gift cards expire (and do tell the recipient).

So think carefully about the likely financial strength of the retailer, and how quickly they'll be used. If in doubt, cash (or money in the bank) is the ultimate gift voucher - it's totally flexible and usable anywhere.

11. Time for a household stock-take; walk around your home to look for owt unused since last Christmas. Shops don't just look at what's in their tills, they value their stock too - so should we. So why not do a stock check? Walk around the house to find anything you've not used in the past year - toys, old coffee makers, mobile phones, prams, gadgets or even clothes unused since the last festive season. Ask yourself if you should flog them for cash. More help in...

- eBay selling tips. Best for pricey stuff, eg, designer gear or electronics.
- Facebook selling tips. Best for larger items, eg, wardrobes or sofas.
- Vinted selling tips. Best for clothes.

Or read MSE Sarah's guide to flogging your rubbish for cash (even old loo rolls), for tips on selling perfume bottles, jam jars etc.

12. It's time to DemoHOHOtivate yourself. If you're short of cash for Christmas, then consider whether you're willing to make some small sacrifices to help, eg, if you stop your daily matcha latte (darling) on the way to work, you may save £450 by Christmas. Our DemoHOHOtivator tool lets you see how all YOUR little cuts add up.

13. Sort out your shopping list, prepare your Christmas cupboard, and find out how to POUNCE when things are cheapest. If you've a list of presents or other things to buy, be aware prices aren't static; they can move up and down (Amazon price tracker CamelCamelCamel shows eye-opening examples). There are ways to time it right with your more expensive buys...

- Start with a shopping list - knowing what you want always helps.
- Use Google Shopping to compare prices now, and tools such as PriceRunner and Love Sales to set the price you want to pay for an item, then be alerted when it drops to that price.
- Get a Christmas cupboard ready, so if you do buy early, wrap your prezzies, tag them and forget about them until the big day.

14. Please DON'T borrow for Christmas... but if you will, at least ensure it's at 0%. I'm torn. Borrowing for Christmas is a bad idea. My big message is DON'T DO IT, it's far better to cut your cloth accordingly. Yet I know many people do do-it, and won't stop just because I say so. That's the reason January is debt counsellors' busiest time - Christmas debt is oft a catalyst that tips people over the edge.

If that hasn't put you off and you feel you've no choice (really think carefully whether that's true), then at least try to keep it interest-free...

• Use a 0% spending card. This is a 0% credit card that gives you new borrowing at 0% for, in some cases, two years. Done right, they're the cheapest way to borrow over the medium term. To find out what you'll be accepted for, try our 0% Spending Card Eligibility Calculator.
  
  Normally with 0% cards, I'd say plan and budget to clear the debt before the 0% ends - or the rate jumps to a costly 25%-ish APR. But for Christmas borrowing, try to clear it well before next Christmas or it'll make things even worse then. If you can't do that, then that's a big danger sign that you shouldn't be borrowing so much - it'll just compound your problems.
  
  Always stick within the credit limit and never miss a minimum monthly repayment or you can lose the 0% rate.
  
  
• Or buy now, pay later. This pops up almost every time you pay these days, and lets you spread the cost over, usually, 3mths with no interest. Many don't think of it as a debt, but that's wrong, it is and that's where you should mentally categorise it. Plus, unlike credit cards, formal safety regulation and protections aren't yet in force (thankfully, this is due to take effect in July 2026).
  
  Be careful, don't do it willy-nilly, only do it if it's planned and you have the money to repay. Do not do it on a whim (people get into most trouble by just using it all the time and not thinking it needs repaying). Make sure you can afford to repay within the time. If not, you can still get yourself in trouble. More help in Buy now, pay later.

15. It's beginning to look a lot like (the cheapest time to book) Christmas (trains). The very first advance train tickets tend to go on sale around 12 weeks ahead, so that's the point to start looking (though some may be released a few weeks later). If you want to be assured of bagging a cheap festive fare, start checking in the next couple of weeks. For more help, choo-choo your way over to Cheap train tickets.

47. Lots more Crimbo cost-cutters. I haven't messed up the numbering system, just a final note that if you want more tips as we progress towards the festive season, check out our full 47 Christmas cost-cutters guide.