How to do Christmas amidst this cost of living crisis

Christmas may well be the most festive time of year but it also, quite often, ends up being the most expensive time of year.

It’s no secret that the cost of living has soared to an unrealistic benchmark this year, everything but salaries & pensions have gone up, leaving Aussies in a tough situation this festive season. We explore ways to tighten the purse strings and make the most of this Christmas without pulling your hair out.

Arrange your expenses

First of all, make a list of things you and your family usually spend on during Christmas and make sure you include all the tiny ones, too. Every dollar counts! Some usuals include: presents, Christmas cards, decorations, stocking fillers, outside dining and new clothes. A smart way to do it might be to go through your 2021 December bank statement and highlight all your Christmas expenses. Once you have the list, you are free to start splitting the essential and the nonessential, as hard as this may be, this will help you in weeding out the bigger fish which aren’t really essential.

Go on a cash only budget

This means to decide a budget before you start spending and withdraw that money as cash - that’s your festive allowance! There is no way for you to overdraw or stretch your budget if it’s in hard cash sitting in your wallet. Whether you prefer to write your budget as dot points in a notebook or on a digital spreadsheet, it is important to bring it onto paper so that you are committing fully and you have the freedom to monitor your spending as you go.

Shop thriftier

Being thrifty during Christmas is an art which involves browsing tons of Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Christmas sales. These usually see full priced, branded products labelled at anywhere between 30-70% off their retail price. Those are some major savings. Another thrifty trick is combining your online shopping carts to qualify for free shipping, or to look for stores which do free shipping.

Try Secret Santa

When in larger groups, some are usually obligated to shop for everyone in the group, meaning multiple presents and multiple spends. This year suggest the neat idea of a Secret Santa, in which you pick a name out of a hat and that’s the person you need to buy a gift for, and in turn, someone else picks your name and you receive a gift too. This is a huge penny pincher.

Be energy smart

Christmas can really see a spike in your energy bill as there’s the added electrical usage in almost every area of the house, not to mention outdoor lighting. The kitchen sees more and more oven hours to cook up yummy roasts, the living room sees the Christmas tree lit up all day/ night, the outside of the house gets decorated in a cascade of lights, the late nights bring on more light time and more. This is how things could really add up and get out of hand when the bill lands in your mailbox a few months later. So make sure you do what you can to minimise this effect. Turn lights and appliances off when not in use, watch your use of air-conditioning and try to dry all your clothes on the line outside – your clothes drier is a power glutton!

Give ‘second hand’ a go

A great idea is to visit second hand stores to pick up some rare decoration finds which may bring a new character to your Christmas setup. Some may prefer to go second hand for their gift shopping but that’s up to everyone’s personal discretion.

Don’t stress

Christmas doesn’t have to be perfect to be an enjoyable time. May it be a smaller tree, less lights, less presents or less extravagant food. What’s important is that you spend quality time with your family together sharing laughs and making memories!