How to Save Money on Your Christmas Shopping Online

 This is partnered guest post.

Nobody likes to pay more for something than they really have to and this is especially true over the Christmas period when money is tighter than ever. This is why we have put together some tips to help you keep your Christmas spending under control and buy all of your Christmas presents for as little as possible.

Make a List…And Check It Twice

We all know the song about Santa Claus making a list of all the good boys and girls, but how many actually make their own lists? The problem is that there are so many people for you to buy for that you often forget who you have bought for and end up buying twice or missing them out and having to buy them something last minute and paying over the odds for it. Before you do any Christmas shopping, write a list of everyone that you need to buy for, set a budget for each person and a few ideas for what you might get them. As you purchase each gift, tick them off the list. By setting a budget for each person and writing down some ideas, this will stop you spending too much on them on an impulse purchase.

Shopping Around

Now that you know exactly what you need to buy and who for, start looking around online to find different retailers that sell the items. Do not just assume that one will always be cheaper than another. Search for each of the items on your list and record the top 5 cheapest websites for each. It is important that you record the top 5 and not just the cheapest and there are a few other things to take into account before you buy anything.

Voucher Codes

Many retailers provide discounts to their customers in the form of Voucher Codes, this could be a voucher to get a discount on your order, a free gift when you spend a certain amount or even free delivery. Check each of the retailers on your list against a site like promotioncodes.org.uk to see if they have any voucher codes available. If they do, write them down next to the retailer. This may mean that one of the retailers that weren’t previously the cheapest, now becomes the cheapest.

Delivery

The biggest problem with ordering online is the delivery charges. While a few sites such as Amazon provide free delivery on everything, most sites do charge some sort of delivery fee, which can often be as much as £5 or £6. If you are ordering lots of small items from lots of different places, this can soon add up. Some retailers offer free delivery if you spend a certain amount, while others may have free delivery voucher codes. If the cheapest retailer charged £6 for delivery, but you can buy all the items from somewhere else for an extra £2 and get free delivery, it obviously works out cheaper to buy them elsewhere. This is very important as some retailers do offer products at cheap prices in order to make you think you are getting a good deal, but they then add a large delivery fee on instead to make their profit.

Anne

I'm a mother of 2 who likes to get involved in too much! Besides writing here I started a non-profit, I'm on the PTO board, very active in my community and volunteer in the school. I enjoy music, reading, cooking, traveling and spending time with my family. We just adopted our 3rd cat and love them all!

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