Christmas is a time when savings promises are most often broken. But you can have lots of Christmas Cheer and still keep you spending in check with our great guide to saving without being called The Grinch.
Eat, drink, be merry…and keep your bank account happy as well.
Decorations
Everyone needs a Christmas tree at Christmas time and you can pick up a Rustic Fir Mix 2.25 metre tree from Christmas Kingdom for $379.00 but if you shopped at Catch.com.au, a 2.1 metre Jingle Jollys Christmas Tree would only cost $325, which is a saving of $54.00.
Presents
The average person spends $464 on Christmas presents each year with 14% of shoppers relying on their credit cards. If your credit card has an interest rate of 20% that could add an extra $92.80 to your shopping bill, bringing it up to $556.80.
There are two cheaper options available. You can either switch to a low rate Breeze Mastercard from Bankwest which will give you 15 months where you will pay 0% interest or you can use buy now pay later. If you buy now, pay later you will not pay any fees and as long as you make your repayments on time there are no additional charges.
If you don’t want to do your Christmas shopping as early as Boxing Day (yes, 364 days before the next Christmas Day) then you can pick up some brilliant deals during the Black Friday sales. Rebel Sport has discounts of up to 50% and you can get huge discounts at online stores like Catch and Kogan. If you bought a Nike Womens Sportswear Essential Funnel Neck Hoodie you would only pay $39.99, which is discounted from $79.99, saving you $40 on just one gift.Â
New technology can be expensive with laptops costing over $1,000. Dell’s Inspiron 15 laptop is normally priced at $2,208.98 but if you visit the Dell website you can get it for $1324,98, saving you $884.
Perfume is always a top pick for Christmas presents and Chanel is extremely popular amongst the ladies. If you buy Chanel No.5 EDP 100ml from Catch you will pay $339 but if you buy it from World Perfume you will only pay $132.71 saving yourself $206.29.
Men’s cologne never goes astray and David Jones is selling Tom Ford Oud Wood Eu De Parfum 50ml for $360 but if you shop around and buy it from Your Discount Chemist you will only pay $249.95 giving you a discount of $110.05.
A box of Lego Friends Heartlake City Grand Hotel normally retails for $169.99 at Myer but if you shopped around and bought it from JMall, the cost would only be $119.80 saving you $50.19.
A Barbie Dreamhouse set will cost you $515.49 at Ozgameshop.com but is significantly cheaper if you buy it from Myer where you can buy it for $329.99 which is a massive saving of $185.50.
Travel
Australians love to travel and the average Australian spends $444 on travelling during the Christmas holidays. If you’re driving to your holiday destination then you’ll spend $101.60 to fill an 80 litre tank according to the Australian Fuel Index published by Budget Direct.
A litre of fuel will get you approximately 12.5 kilometres, so an 80 litre tank of fuel should get you 1,000 kilometres. If you travelled from Sydney to Melbourne, which is 877 kilometres you would go through two tanks of fuel just getting there and back. That doesn’t include any travel that you may do in Melbourne.Â
If you filled up your tank three times it would cost you $304.80 for 240 litres.Â
The good news is that you can save yourself $9.60 if you have a Woolworths Everyday Rewards Card and fill up your tank at Caltex. Simply spend $30 or more in a single transaction to receive the discount.Â
If you spend $20 or more at Coles Express in one single transaction you can get a discount of 10 centres per litre which adds up to $24 on a single holiday.
It’s not just fuel that you can get discounts on. You can also get discounts on accommodation.Â
When you book through Flight Centre the discounts can be up to $66% off Australian or international holidays. Wotif offers up to 40%; Agoda offers discounts of 30% and lastminute.com.au sells accommodation with a discount of up to 36%. Daily deal website Groupon is known for its massive discounts, which range from 10-78% off.Â
If you wanted to stay at the Absolute Twin Sands Resort in Phuket you could pay $1874, unless you booked on Groupon, where you would only pay $399 for the ame holiday, giving you a massive saving of $1,475.
Food
Christmas food can be expensive and if you don’t like cooking for large groups you can order a half leg of ham (5-6kgs) from the Grounds of Alexandria, you would pay $150 or for a full leg, $240 (7-8kgs). If you shopped at Woolworth’s and decided to cook it yourself then you could pick up a half leg of ham for $55.25 or $80 for a full leg of ham. That would save you between $94.75 and $160.
Alcohol
According to Great Southern Bank the average Aussie spends $130 on alcohol at Christmas, not including alcohol bought as a gift. A one litre bottle of Absolut vodka costs $81.49 on Catch.com.au but if you bought it online at Booze Bud you would pay only $64.84 saving $16.65 per bottle.
If you’re more of a whiskey drinker, you can pick up a 700ml bottle of Jim Beam White Label Bourbon Whiskey at Mr Danks Liquor for $61.99 including delivery but that price drops to $43.37 if you order on BoozeBud, giving you a discount of $18.62.