How to have a champagne Christmas on a cask wine budget

My tree is up, and my chickadees are trying to run my newly mortgaged bank balance down.

With interest rate rises across the year adding $835 to the average $500,000 home loan, few of us can afford a season too silly.

So for my final column this year I reached out to Aussies en masse, via my social media, for the on-the-ground cost-cutting strategies for this crunch of a Christmas.

Here are theirs. And mine.

One amazing (or not) present per adult

My overwhelming impression here is that families and friends are chatting early and agreeing on a plan to save money upfront.

If you haven’t already, you need to get onto this now – otherwise, you risk the wrath of that smug individual who has everything bought and wrapped.

Hugely popular is the more economically appropriate idea of one present each – either by allocating one person to buy for a specific other, by Secret Santa or by the favourite in my family, ‘Stealing Santa’.

With Stealing Santa, you buy a present for no one in particular and gather around together to open them in drawn-out-of-a-hat order. The ‘stealing’ part is that anyone who opens a present can take/swap their present for one previously opened.

The funnier the presents, the better. And you want to draw the largest number, so you can get your pick of the lot. But take heed of one veteran’s warning: “We had to stop doing Stealing Santa in my family as people started forming factions and it caused fights!”

Anyway, to make any of these approaches feel properly festive, you could agree on a value that is decent – $50, $100 or whatever suits your group. It’s still likely a big saving.

More bang for your gift buck

Lots of Aussies tell me they are working the rewards cards to get discounts or money off. Some are getting a little innovative too. One cost-conscious Christmas strategist said: “Use Shopback when you’re buying something ... Cashback is always just a little bonus.”

Another ‘stinge-spired’ reader told me: “I bank up Telstra Rewards to buy the kids gifts and shop at Woolies, BWS & Coles for rewards (I also shop 50 per cent at Aldi to save). I’ve earned $500 to go towards food and gifts.”

And think of this: A voucher is a quasi-cash gift that can then be redeemed for even more in the Boxing Day sales.

You should never pay full price either. There has been an explosion in discounts offered by associations and road-side assistance clubs, not to mention promotional deals from the outlets themselves – cinemas are particularly prolific.

Do not forget The Entertainment App either, where you can get cut-price actual products or pay-now-buy-later coupons. You could even give the membership itself as a present. For $70, depending on the area, the recipient could save thousands on food and leisure activities for a whole year.

You could also do a deal with your family to all gift vouchers, then hit the sales for an economically inspired ‘activity’ later.

Save on the day

This Christmas Day is not the one to throw a Henry VIII-style feast. Everyone is in the same budgetary boat and will understand keeping things a bit simple.

If you do not already share the effort and the expense of the meal, is this the year to start? People may love the chance to contribute their own hero dish.

Skipping the prawns and more expensive proteins would leave a bundle in your pocket, too. They do make for disgusting rubbish come Boxing Day.

Speaking of rubbish: bon bons – are they worth it? Mess, terrible trinkets and poor puns.

What if the kids made party hats and the dads told jokes instead? I am only half joking!

And instead of planning Christmas catch-ups at expensive bars and restaurants, try ‘cocooning’.

A term coined in the global credit crack-up, it means recreating potentially just-as-fun entertainment experiences at home, such as a DIY cocktail/mocktail night at someone’s house, all bringing a bottle.

Because times are tight. Where could you trim the ‘trimmings’ this year?

• Advice given in this article is general in nature and is not intended to influence readers’ decisions about investing or financial products. They should always seek their own professional advice that takes into account their own personal circumstances before making any financial decisions.

Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon is the author of How to Get Mortgage-Free Like Me. Follow Nicole on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

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