No money to spend at Christmas can seem overwhelming. You want to be able to do everything everyone else is supposedly doing, right? Everyone seems to be loudly talking about their elaborate plans.
Plans that seem far out of reach for someone who, for whatever reason, has little cash to spare in the Christmas season.
Yep, I’ve been there, and to be honest, and I am still in the position where I appreciate the value of the things I originally started to do when I refused to give way to pressures and once again spend on my credit cards.
If you’re anything like me, you will think that you need to Christmas on as much of a budget as possible.
How is it that Christmas always creeps up so quickly every year?
I found I needed a solution to the last-minute money panic I had felt for years and years. Wake up at night thinking – how do I possibly please everyone?
Or, what could I juggle without causing financial hell or us having to eat soup for a month?
That’s a tad dramatic, but you know the horrible feeling post-Christmas when you feel like you can’t buy anything for fear of a looming colossal bill!
I was determined, over the years, to find small ways to feel better in the Christmas period about how to pay for everything.
I have used some ideas below- some I have heard of- that have been used very successfully. I hope they help you to have a genuinely restful Christmas on a Budget. If I have survived, so can you.
Forgive Yourself for Wanting To Appear Like Your Christmas Is Perfect.
One of the things I realized I was doing was comparing myself to everyone around me. Social media and magazines were promoting perfection at Christmas, whether it be the glorious photographs from my friend list on Facebook or glossy pictures of families celebrating in magazines. So I stopped buying the magazines – it seemed every time I read one made me feel worse.
How could I afford all they were promoting as Christmas essentials?
Facebook is a great thing, but in terms of spending money, I realized I was again spending unnecessary money on nonessentials.
I limited my use, and I started to feel more positive within a few days. Within a week, I also realized how much time it freed. Mr. Budget was happier too.
RELATED: The Only Gift Guide You’ll Need to Please Everyone on Your Christmas List
Christmas can be stressful if you haven’t got much money to spend.
The conversation I had with him was monumental also.
He turned to me and said.
Why don’t you forgive yourself for wanting to make everything so perfect? You are beating yourself up without any reason. Be kind.
I don’t like to admit this, but he was right.
In my attempt to keep my family happy – provide them with expensive presents, and try to see everyone for a meal or whatever they had booked, I had forgotten I had a choice in everything. I could choose to budget and not blame myself for it. After all, I was being responsible and accountable for my money situation then also.
Make a Christmas Budget and a Monthly Budget.
Mr. Budget and I sat down and figured out how much I could afford to spend using a blank budget planner. I found that physically writing it down was like I’d promised myself to succeed in not going into more debt.
It felt like a contract to look after myself better. We had hardly anything to spend (£150), but this was still a workable figure because we had decided to control our Christmas outcome.
It also helps to make a budget to see what you have left every month to save.
Before you begin a budget, you will want to download our FREE budget form by filling in the pink box below:
Two Heads or More Are Better Than One
Within a couple of hours, we had come up with solutions for everything. It was clear that we had to be harsh to achieve this total budget. Because we were involved in this process, we bounced off each other different ideas, and I felt like I wasn’t trying to handle it all alone.
Things To Do if You Can’t Afford Christmas Events This Year
I Worked Out What We Absolutely Couldn’t Do Ahead of Christmas and Found Free Alternatives
The hard fact was that we needed to find a way to afford to attend scheduled events with friends. Our solution was to get in touch with friends and explain our Christmas budget plan honestly. We filled our pre-Christmas and Christmas diaries with free meet-ups or only buying a coffee.
Our organization meant that we could explain to close friends and family not and adequately feel any Christmas guilt. After all, we had made an effort to spend time with the people we care about most in the world.
Cheap Things To Do at Christmas if You Are Skint:
- Walks in the park or countryside and back home for a milky coffee or hot chocolate.
- DVD/film night – get everyone to bring one item of food or drink
- Take the kids to an outdoor play area.
- Crafting session with the kids
- You go to your local seaside town and stroll along the beach with the family and the dog.
- Take an evening trip to the local mall/shopping center and mooch around. You don’t have to buy anything, but enjoy the holidays’ bustle.
- Visit Santa – a lot of places offer this free!
- Ice skating – many cities or large towns set up a rink and let you skate for a minimal amount.=
Give Yourselves Enough Breathing Space to Just Be.
We were looking forward to the holidays so much that we realized we needed more time to relax.
The beauty of relaxation is that it’s free or very, very cheap.
We built this into our holiday and felt refreshed when we returned to work again.
Our days have consisted of long baths, lie-ins, and films in bed with many cups of tea and biscuits. The list goes on. We felt so much better also because we were effectively managing the payment of our debt without diving deeper into debt each year.
Ideas for Christmas Relaxation Days When You Have No Money:
- Order a takeaway in and watch films all night. We had previously bought a wine box from Aldi, which lasted most of the holidays.
- Walk the dog. The family dog provided hours of free entertainment. They always need walking. Part of our daily ‘free’ holiday involved taking him to places we knew he would love. We underestimated what simple pleasure just watching him splash around in a shallow river or stream.
- Stay in your pajamas! Another day we didn’t get out of our pajamas all day and enjoyed our favorite broadsheet newspaper together. It was delicious thinking that we didn’t need to be anywhere at any time. We realized we had lost the urge to rush around; this reflection was our key to excellent mental health at Christmas. We had indeed managed to relax.
For other ideas, the Mirror came up with some great ideas for families.
Real Friends Will Want You To Succeed With Your Christmas Budget.
This had to be the biggest lesson learned – it clarified who our friends were.
I don’t regret this whatsoever, though. Our real friends have experienced life’s ups and downs with us and have been excited to try our new budget thinking.
They didn’t care that we couldn’t buy much – they just wanted our time. As a result, we feel much closer to our real friends now because they understand us.
My message is, don’t be afraid to tell them how you feel and share what you need to do – you will feel better that you have shared your situation with them.
You will feel like you are on the road to cutting your spending, financial stability, savings, and security. Every step towards this goal is essential, no matter how small. It all counts!
Real friends will help you achieve your budget goals
So now the question is, how exactly did we do Christmas when we didn’t have any money to spend?
Here are some tips for gifts, events, and things to do at Christmas that you can achieve with small amounts of money.
How Can I Make Christmas Cheap?
Set a Christmas Budget That You Can Afford
Set a budget and try your best to stick to it. This is easier said than done.
This year, I will be using Christmas versions of my cash envelopes. For each budget area, I will allocate a set budget. When the cash is gone, it’s gone!
Buy a set of colorful envelopes and put cash into each of them. This will serve as your budget for Christmas food, Christmas presents, going out, and any other expenses relevant to you.
Last year, I did it purely via card and found it challenging. This year, I have enjoyed using the cash envelope system, as it keeps me accountable for my spending.
Buy Elements of Your Christmas Dinner Every Week
Buy one thing a week towards Christmas dinner and freeze it or store it. Start two or three months in advance.
You could even have a separate section in your freezer, so you don’t eat it as part of the average week’s eating plan. Put anything such as wine or stuffing mix away in the cupboard. Supermarkets such as Aldi and Lidl are superb places to pick up food bargains for Christmas.
Christmas Presents on a Budget.
- 1Make an ideas list
- 2Set a spending limit
- 3Pay in cash
- 4Go alone
- 5Only spend on what you were going for, no spending on you
- 6Look out for sales at discount stores
- 7Combine Christmas gifts for couples
Shop Around The Sales All Year Round
To spread your spending over longer and afford more, looking at sale bargains could be a way to buy some of your Christmas gifts.
Becky over at Family Budgeting has a great post about bargains you can find every year. Other inspiration can be found at Finsavvypanda, where she has found killer bargains on stocking fillers for less than $10 that are also applicable worldwide.
Make Homemade Christmas Gifts for a Cheaper
If you have children, great use of spare time and possible bonding time could be making presents for their grandparents. Making budget decorations can keep children occupied, busily making for hours. Over at the Diary of a Frugal Family, Cass has collected together superb tried and tested ideas for simple decorations and ornaments kids can make.
If you can knit and have time, woolen knitted scarves seem to be a hit with the children. I love the classic look of home-knitted jumpers, also. This could also be an option – and updating young children’s wardrobes without paying retail prices.
Maybe you have a talent such as being artistic. In the past, I have gifted good pieces of my artwork as gifts.
Christmas cards are more authentic and much appreciated by grandparents and parents if they are handmade by younger children.
My mum loved her Christmas card from my two-year-old niece! She wouldn’t stop showing it to everyone. Is it something that you could spare time to do?
Do Secret Santa With Your Family and Friends!
Instead of buying all your extended family presents, you could arrange a secret Santa, where everyone has one gift they believe for a specific person. This works well, particularly for the family’s adults, and you would only need to pay for one present, as opposed to many. You could even set a spending limit and theme, limiting unnecessary outlay even more.
Re-gift Old Christmas Presents and Gift Bags Carefully
Can you re-gift unused presents – be careful to note who it was from, though, so you don’t give it back!
I also save present bags and remove the tags so they are reusable. This keeps me, on average, £20 a year.
Give The Gift of Time
Could you arrange with your family to give the gift of time?
Maybe you are good at:
- DIY
- Sewing
- Cleaning
Could you offer an hour to help a family member, especially an elderly one?
Or just spend quality time doing an activity you both enjoy! This could save hundreds of pounds, and everyone gets to spend time together – something I guess we could all do more together.
Come Together and Split The Christmas Dinner Bill
Could you arrange for as many people in your family to come together to have Christmas dinner?
This way, the bill could be split. Maybe you could have Jacob’s join, where you invite everybody to say what they will bring, and everyone has a great feast, but for little outlay!
It is possible to hire a small hall for a low price in some areas, so you could potentially have more of you together!
Christmas Gifts on a Budget at Work
At work, could you suggest sending each other a free e-card instead of feeling undue pressure to buy everyone something and a card? I have used ecards.co.uk to send e-cards. It also eliminates paper waste, so it is more eco-friendly. Big win!
Instead of going out, Jacob’s join idea has been fun in the past for me. It is also a way of saving money by not having to afford another expensive night out before Christmas.
Plan For Your Christmas Budget 2020
Use a Christmas Savings Scheme or Plan
There are many savings plans in different formats that you can use to prepare for 2020 from just after Christmas 2019.
Park offers Lovetoshop vouchers or a card.
Choose a total budget and pay every week or month towards the total. The great thing is that there are lots of ways to pay. Some include: direct debit, manual payments by telephone, internet, or downloading the app. From September onwards, your vouchers or card will be delivered to you.
I love this method personally because I do this every year. It forces me to save throughout the year, so I no longer have to panic about where the money will come from. My payments go directly to my friend who, to make more money, works as an agent for Park.
Because I have to pay her, it keeps me on the straight, narrow, and accountable for the fact that I need to be within my budget for Christmas.
Supermarket Christmas Saving Schemes.
Supermarkets such as ASDA, Morrisons, and Tesco offer saving schemes, where you can electronically save credits onto their cards over the year. So as part of your shop, you could budget £5 for charging to the card, and before you know it, you will have saved a small fortune! Bear in mind you would have to spend the money in the store you have saved within.
ASDA Christmas Saving Card
You can save up to £485 on this savings card. If you save £285 or over by the bonus date in November, you get a £15 reward.
Save £230 and £279, and you will receive a £12 bonus. Save as little as £30, and ASDA will give you a bonus of £1. When you register, you receive a card and a car keys fob. So just load the card every time you shop, and it will soon build up.
Morrisons Christmas Savers
Morrisons are offering digital stamps now. You can buy them in-store all year now.
Save £49, and Morrisons will make it up to £50.
Save £100, and Morrisons will make it up to £100.
Tesco Christmas Savers
With a Tesco Christmas Saver card, you can save from 50p to £630
Top up throughout the year and get:£25 – £49.50 top-up = £1.50 bonus£50 – £99.50 top-up = £3 bonus£100 – £199.50 top-up = £6 bonus£200 – £360 top-up = £12 bonus
The 15 October 2019 is the date to top up your savings and receive your bonus in your November 2019 statement.
Making the most out of the supermarket Christmas saving schemes.
You need to read this post on Moneysavingexpert on how to get the maximum value out of the supermarket Christmas schemes this year.
It’s worth bearing in mind also not to put all of your budgets into these schemes, as there always could be a chance that the company could go bust. I always remember this, so I generally have half of my Christmas budget saved in a savings scheme.
I hope these tips inspire you or spark other ideas for a peaceful Christmas on a shoestring. When you have no money, Christmas may seem daunting, but it’s possible.
More Articles From Our Woven Journey’s Network
- 7 Ways to Stay Our of Debt This Christmas
- Craving a Hallmark Kind of Christmas? This State Has Everything You Need to Make it Happen
This article was produced by Wealth of Geeks and syndicated by Our Woven Journey.
