Christmas shopping and making the most of Black Friday sales can be tedious tasks, but research shows that despite the desire to procrastinate, some Aussies are getting in early.
A new survey by finder.com.au has revealed that 47 per cent of Aussies have already started their Christmas shopping.
But that leaves some 4.1 million Aussies, who are holding off and only plan on starting their gift buying during the first week of December.
November might seem a little early to start prepping for the silly season, and of course there’s nothing like the panic of the festive month to help kick your butt into gift-buying mode, but you shouldn’t rule out early Christmas shopping just yet.
Rushing around the week before Christmas trying to find the perfect gift can result in impulse buying and spending more than you need to
on gifts that just aren’t quite right.
Instead, follow these tips and you might just save yourself a few dollars.
1. Consider Boxing Day
If you don’t actually plan on seeing your family members or friends till after Christmas, why not purchase their gifts during the Boxing Day sales?
They’ll never know, and you’re likely to score yourself some pretty big discounts. If you plan on shopping the sale for yourself you may as well kill two birds with one stone.
2. Know when the sales are
There are a number of sales between now and Christmas Day, including Black Friday and Cyber Monday. By starting your Chrissy shopping now you can take advantage of some of the amazing deals and discounts on offer.
Black Friday (today) is one of the biggest shopping days of the year so you’re bound to find a few presents that won’t do too much damage to your hip pocket. Check out finder.com.au’s round- up of Black Friday discounts and deals to really save this Christmas.
3. Decide on a dollar limit per person and stick to it
This might seem a little bit obvious, but if you really want to save, make sure you set a budget and a dollar limit per person and stick to it.
If you start thinking about Christmas presents early, you allow yourself ample time to think over your budget and plan exactly what presents you want to purchase and you give yourself the opportunity to shop around and compare different prices.
4. Use discount codes
Not only can discount codes and coupons help you cut down on your Chrissy spend, but they can even help you save on things like Christmas lunch.
These days you can find discount codes for almost anything including clothing, toys, alcohol and groceries, so why not make the most of them?
5. DIY gifts
If you really want to cut down how much you spend on Christmas presents this year, try your hand at making presents instead. You’ll need plenty of time if you want to give do-it- yourself presents a go, so make sure to get started as soon as possible.
Not only are DIY presents cheap but they also add a personal touch to your gift giving. This works perfectly if you have younger children too – who doesn’t love a handmade macaroni picture frame?
