Its getting very close to the big day, that one day in the year when we throw all caution to the wind and spend it like there is no tomorrow.  According to  a recent Deloitte survey, we Irish will fork out a staggering €1.5bn in the run-up to Christmas day, on presents, food and drink. That works out at an average of about €900 per family.

If you are a shopper that prefers to go online instead of on foot, always do a search for the shops name plus coupon code to avail of discount before deciding on any purchases.  Quite a number of websites will advertise coupon codes to give the shopper a discount.  Worth trying, although you may not be successful every time, sometimes you can strike it lucky and you will be able to avail of savings on products or post and packing fees.  It doesn’t take long to search for the discount codes/coupons.

Never buy an item at first glance as you may very well get it cheaper elsewhere especially if you are talking about the more expensive purchases such as cameras, computers etc.  If you choose to shop on foot, you can still avail of discount.  Always check with the sales person if they have any special offers available or indeed if they would offer you a discount for shopping there.  If you don’t ask, you won’t get.  If its cash you are paying, very few stores will let you walk out the door without at least considering your query for discount.  So don’t be shy, don’t be bashful, its your hard earned money, make sure you are getting the most for it.

While our spending is fresh in our minds, now is the time to set out a budget for next years Christmas shopping.  Use Billsmanager.com to set out your household budget and include Christmas Shopping as one of your annual bills.  That way you will spread the cost of your Christmas bills throughout the year.  Less painful that way!