Tag: frugal

This year, I’m determined to beat the Christmas rush and get an early start to saving for the Christmas we want.

So how can I start now ….

Decide on how much you want to spend on gifts, decor, and food and then divide that amount by 11 months and deposit your amount each month into a savings account.

Depending on how much willpower you have you should have your amount by Christmas. ( If you are like me you also may be tempted to spend this saving during the year)

So, knowing I have no willpower, a Checkers card is a much better option for me.

Checkers have a savings card and allow you to top up the card in increments of R20.  You can add a little each time you go shopping.

Another option is to purchase gift cards throughout the year to gift.

Some of my favourites are Woolworths, Mr price and Toys R us

You could also purchase a Pick n pay gift card in October or November to use towards your Christmas meal.

Pep money works the same way as the Checkers saving cards and if  you added R20 to an account a day until December you would have just over R7000

Some butcheries allow you to purchase cards to top up from R20 a time. Just ask your local butcher if they offer this service.

Ysense is a survey site that actually works. I joined a month ago and made $10.68 ( about R170)in the month by answering surveys and playing games occasionally. What’s really great is that you can cash out from $10 into your PayPal account and you could honestly leave your amount until Christmas.

Many stores offer a layby system where you can purchase your items with a deposit and pay the rest over 2 or 3 months. You then collect the goods when your amount is fully paid. This is a great way to buy those Christmas outfits.

Another great idea is to buy or make gifts monthly and store them until Christmas. I have a large family and this is the best way for me to spend more money on each child as I can budget R500 a month for example but couldn’t budget R4500 at one go for gifts in December.