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NewsStocking Fillers? Pfft!
Stocking Fillers? Pfft!

Stocking Fillers? Pfft!

Tags: Cost of Living
Last updated by Someone on

Santa is 5 weeks off sliding down the chimney so it might be time to start thinking about the shopping.

To say my children have had the best year ever is an understatement. I’ve forked out plenty of money on them so it will be a lean Christmas at my house.

I’m not feeling guilty at all as they will still pick up plenty of things at their father’s house from his family. At my place it will be a Chrissie card with $20 and a slap on the back from me.

But if you need to save some money this Christmas try this:

 

  1. How much did Christmas 2015 cost you? After all the present unwrapping happened was it a little bit of an anti-climax? Christmas is only one day so think carefully about purchases, you don’t want to be paying for gifts for the first 6 months of 2017.
  2. Make a list of who you need to buy for and whenever you see goods at low prices, grab, wrap, and stuff 'em in a Christmas cupboard – the earlier the better.
  3. For cheap yet thoughtful gifts, print photo’s from your smart phone and buy a cheap frame from the $2 shop. You can also get the photo’s printed on coffee mugs and calendars online fairly cheaply.
  4. When you buy a gift for a friend, you are inadvertently putting them in a position of feeling obliged to buy for you. For some, the gift of "not obliging you to buy for me" is actually better.

 

  1. Before Christmas is the year's costliest shopping time, January sales the cheapest. So if you're after a big-ticket family purchase like a telly or games console… wait. Give the kids a nicely-wrapped IOU, telling them you're waiting for the sales.
  2. Don’t buy a whole turkey, buy a turkey buff . After-all, you don’t want to still be eating turkey in January.
  3. Presents don't have to equate to big bucks. Whether it's a 'massage' (nudge, nudge) for your loved one, babysitting or letting the kids have a sleepover, your time could be the best present. So pledge to do something nice.

 

  1. Don’t give gift cards. Sometimes retailers go bust (think Masters and Dick Smith). Most gift cards must be redeemed within a certain period of time, so the recipient needs to spend them before time runs out.

 

  1. Don’t fall for the old “stocking filler” advertising. If you’re buying it just to fill a stocking, the person you’re buying for probably doesn’t want it.

 

  1. If you must have seafood for lunch, buy it from the fish markets as close to closing time as possible (5pm Christmas Eve at the Sydney markets). The seafood will reduce in price as the clock ticks to closing.

If you have tips for saving money at Christmas, please share with the Club in the forum below! Kayley

 

Originally posted on .

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Someone
Someone from VIC commented:

Hi I have been doing a medium stocking filler for my grandson who will be turning 8. I have been doing it every year, but I have decided to stop after is 10th birthday, like i say even fillers are not cheap unless you buy something he will not use. I usually do colouring books , crayons,yoyo a book etc and he loves waking up to this and he is allowed to open them up before me and my daughter wake . pauline 

Someone
Someone from NSW commented:

I have 6 children married and 15 grandchildren so in September I email them all their Santas wish list. They must tell me 3 things they want ranging from $20 to $50 I decide from the list so it's a surprise to them and an item they really want. I can shop and Wrap at Leisure. On Xmas day I supply the Bon bons and include a scratchie lottery ticket. They love it even the wealthy ones. Merry Xmas to all Maureen 

Gertraud
Gertraud from ACT commented:

My children and grandchildren will get what they get every Christmas and birthdays - cash. I used to send Christmas presents by mail to Perth until one Christmas three parcels containing a total of $500 worth of presents were stolen. Luckily I found out prior to Christmas, and transferred $500 into his bank account to compensate for the stolen presents. There's only my youngest son (26) living with me, so Christmas is a low key event, he too gets cash as I know that he doesn't like anything that I buy. 

susan
susan from SA commented:

Drakes groceries inn South Australia has a Christmas Club and you put money into it all year then in December buy what you like as you need it for the month. Brilliant idea. After every major buying spree holiday through the year there are always great half price or more sales later great for Christmas put aways. 

Someone
Someone from NSW commented:

I purchased three large girly gift packs three days after mothers day . $25 reduced to $12 works for me. Sometimes this also works for 'fathers day', but only sometimes. With the cost of postage being almost as much as a modest present a gift card can be useful. Never-the-less it would be better to give a card that can be used at a number of stores rather than one for a specialty store. As far as the use by date, well my friends and I are not so wealthy that we put aside cards and forget about them. When my best friend and family moved interstate we decided that as she returns to my capital city each October I would take the two hour train trip, meet her for lunch (what a blessing that $2.50 fare is) and exchange Christmas presents,which are hidden away until the tree goes up. I keep weight in mind when I select their presents as they must go by plane, and the money we save on postage pays for our lunch 

Julie
Julie from QLD commented:

i put a lil bit in a xmas club acount every month and now i have over 1000 .00 to spend on xmas 

Linda
Linda from WA replied to Julie:

Me too it saves a lot of stress at Christmas ---- at least the worry of paying for it. Still have to decide what lolto get 

Someone
Someone from NSW replied to Julie:

Yes saving good old fashioned money is much smarter than those clubs where the goods cost much more than you pay in the supermarket especially if like me you plan and purchase when things on special. The only disadvantage is you miss out on the incredible excitement of unloading boxes containing tins of baked beans, green peas, and chick peas , boxes of corn flakes, bottles of soft drink and all those other expensive and exotic treats that make Christmas so special. Yep, just don't get it, which is why I certainly don't get that. 

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