Will Santa Claus Bring High Bills? How to Save Money on Christmas

In a few days, we will finally leave work related tasks behind us and fully enjoy the magic of Christmas. However, we get different tasks. If you’re looking for ways to spend less during the holidays, you’re not alone. Here are some tips to help you approach this issue.

Since personal finance is best managed with advance planning, our tips are organized chronologically so you can prepare starting from the beginning of the next year. Feel free to read them during the holidays as inspiration for New Year’s resolutions.

Even if you haven’t done this for this Christmas, don’t worry. This article contains plenty of advice to save money during the holidays, and the rest will help you prepare for an even more stress-free season next year.

What to Do at the Beginning of the Year?

1. Set a Christmas Philosophy

In personal finance, it’s crucial to identify what brings the most happiness into our lives. This helps us avoid spending on things that don’t truly bring joy. The same applies to Christmas.

While relaxing with holiday movies and treats, ask yourself a simple question: What do I love most about Christmas? Is it the relaxation? Time with family? The joy in loved ones’ eyes when they open their gifts?

Many people don’t realize this and turn Christmas into a source of stress or a competition to give the most expensive gifts. But the essence of Christmas is to avoid such stresses. There’s no moral obligation to buy expensive gifts if you don’t have the income or savings for them. And there’s no need to go on a costly ski trip that leaves you struggling to pay January’s regular expenses.

Write down with your family what you enjoy most about Christmas and cut spending on everything not on the list. You might find that you and your partner enjoy watching movies together or walking in the snow more than exchanging expensive gifts you don’t really need.

Above all, avoid comparing yourself to others. Just because someone gives their loved ones pricey gifts doesn’t make them a better person. And you never know if they’re sacrificing financial responsibility by shopping on credit.

2. Create a Budget

After this year’s holidays, don’t ignore what you’ve spent. Review your account statements and total up expenses in different categories (e.g., gifts, food, travel, skiing).

Then set a target amount. If you managed the holidays well this year, you can aim for the same amount next year. But if this Christmas was financially challenging or if you have ideas to save money in the future (or find them in this article), plan for a lower amount.

Break this target into subcategories, such as €200 for gifts, €150 for food and treats, €100 for family travel, etc.

When the holidays arrive, don’t spend aimlessly, leaving finances for January to sort out. That’s a recipe for a stressful New Year’s start. Track every euro spent in your chosen categories and never exceed them. This advice applies even if you didn’t create a budget at the start of the month—knowing how much you’ve already spent is always better than flying blind.

Our Financial Coach service can help you create and monitor your budget. Easily set up budgets for holiday categories, and it will automatically categorize expenses from your bank accounts. Learn how to create a budget with Financial Coach.

What to Do Throughout the Year?

3. Save for Christmas Gradually

Paying for all holiday expenses from one paycheck is challenging for many people. Spreading the cost over several months can relieve the strain on your December budget.

For example, if you need €450 for holiday expenses, start saving €45 per month from March to December. Open a special savings sub-account in your bank and name it “Christmas.”

Once again, Financial Coach can help. Its features let you plan one-time expenses like Christmas or tax payments. Simply input the planned amount, and the tool will show the impact on your future account balance.

You can also plan how much to save monthly for Christmas, helping you ensure a comfortable reserve for the holidays while covering regular expenses.

4. Shop for Gifts Year-Round

If you spot a perfect gift for someone during the year, buy it right away. Whether you’re traveling abroad for work or running errands, you can store the gift at home until Christmas.

This reduces last-minute shopping stress and can save you money (e.g., if the item is on sale or you avoid paying extra for expedited delivery).

What to Do as the Holidays Approach?

5. What If You Don’t Have a Year-Round Budget?

If you didn’t save in advance, don’t panic. At the start of December, create a spending plan for the month, including holiday categories (e.g., gifts, Christmas dinner) with amounts you can afford.

If you’re in a tight spot, consider earning extra income this month. Sell unused items like smartwatches, outgrown ski jackets, or appliances. Many people appreciate the chance to buy them as gifts during the holidays.

Alternatively, take on temporary work. Delivering food through Wolt, driving for Bolt, or tutoring can be arranged quickly through apps or online platforms and worked around your schedule.

Avoid going into debt—it only postpones current problems, adding interest and stress later. A few moments of holiday joy aren’t worth months of reduced income and anxiety.

6. Shop Online Early

Remember that online gifts need to be delivered to your doorstep, and courier services are often overwhelmed during the holidays. Late orders may require expensive expedited delivery. Avoid this by shopping weeks in advance.

You can also save on delivery by choosing free in-store pickup or combining orders from the same retailer to avoid multiple shipping fees.

7. Buy Fewer Gifts

We’re not suggesting you leave your loved ones without any attention, but many people buy gifts simply out of “obligation.” If it’s just a last-minute trinket that the recipient will never use, it’s a waste of money. Don’t feel pressured to exchange gifts with distant relatives or colleagues from work.

Open communication can help. Talk to those around you about what gifts they need—or if they even want anything at all. You might find that many of you could use some savings and would prefer a shared experience, like cooking a pot of cabbage soup together and chatting over a bottle of wine. If that’s the case, don’t be afraid to replace gifts with memorable moments.

In general, don’t hesitate to give your time instead of material gifts. As a child, I quickly stopped using most new toys, but I’ll always remember the trips I took with my grandparents.

Alternatively, try Secret Santa. It works by having everyone in a group write their name on a slip of paper and draw one name to give a gift to. This way, you don’t have to buy many gifts, and it adds a nice surprise since you won’t know who picked you.

8. Don’t Fall for Discounts

We often write about discounts in the context of financial education. The general rule is that discounts should only be used for things you would have bought anyway (e.g., discounted groceries). If it’s something you wouldn’t normally purchase, a discount is just pushing you to spend unnecessarily.

During the holidays, be extra careful, as this period is flooded with sales and promotions. If you were planning to buy a specific gift and see it on sale (e.g., a perfect item for your brother that you hadn’t decided on yet), go ahead and take advantage of the deal.

However, if you intended to buy fewer gifts and suddenly add a sweater to your list just because it’s 20% off, you’re being manipulated into spending the remaining 80%.

The same applies to all the “temptations” during holiday shopping, like fragrant treats or appealing items in store windows. If you tend to overspend on these, avoid wandering through malls like Aupark. Instead, plan your purchases online and pick them up in-store.

9. Give Group Gifts

If you have an idea for an expensive gift but can’t afford it alone, team up with others. For example, book a wellness retreat for your parents with your siblings, or organize a larger gift for a friend with a group of friends.

You don’t have to buy an additional gift on top of the group one. The effort you made to coordinate and pay for the present as a team will be appreciated—and larger gifts are often more useful than many small ones.

10. Use What You Already Own

Giving away items you already own is often seen as embarrassing. We feel that not spending money on a new item means we’re not showing enough love. From our perspective, this is just another unnecessary symptom of materialism.

Have you ever received a portable speaker you only used once, and now it’s sitting on a shelf? If you know your nephew would get more use out of it, don’t hesitate to wrap it up as a gift. The goal is to bring joy, not just spend money.

The same goes for unused gift vouchers. If your cousin mentioned wanting to read a new book and you have a voucher for a bookstore lying around, use it to buy her gift.

11. Make Your Own Gifts

The classic advice, straight out of a movie: the best gift is one made with love. Think about whether you could create something yourself, like a knitted scarf, a personal poem, a computer animation, or a beautiful photograph.

If you’re not a creative type, you can still gift your help. A “coupon” for shoveling snow, tutoring in math, or help with cooking can be very valuable since these are often stressful chores. Again, this brings us back to the idea of giving your time rather than material goods.

How to Save During the Holidays

12. Save on Traditions

Spending money just because “we’ve always done it this way” is unnecessary, especially if the tradition can be replaced with a cheaper alternative.

The same logic applies to Christmas lights. They’re charming, but they use electricity. Consider decorating your home with other ornaments—you’ll refresh your space while saving money.

As for New Year’s fireworks, they’re expensive, noisy, scare animals, and create a mess. If you want to give your children an experience, consider the next point instead.

13. Discover New Shared Experiences

Do you usually go skiing for a few evenings or book a mountain cabin for a few days? While these activities are adventurous, they can be a significant financial burden.

If you need to save money, consider new ways to spend family evenings. Play board games, take the kids sledding, or organize a family movie night.

These activities will bring you closer together—and that’s what the holidays are about. Plus, you’ll save yourself the stress of planning a ski trip and the high costs.

14. Save on Travel

Holiday visits can also become expensive, especially if they involve driving between different cities.

Think about whether you can limit your car trips. Could you take a bus or train for some visits? Combine gatherings into one location, such as your home? Or skip some visits altogether and replace them with a phone call, especially if they feel more like an obligation?

15. Wrap Gifts Differently

Another expense you can cut is wrapping paper, which only ends up torn and thrown away.

You don’t have to buy new wrapping paper. Look for gift bags you’ve received in the past or consider using other materials like old newspapers. People care about what’s inside, and you can always add a personal touch by drawing something on the wrapping 😊.

Merry Christmas!

At Finax, we wish you a joyful holiday season filled with well-deserved rest and time spent with loved ones. We hope these tips help Santa bring less unnecessary stress and more of that magical Christmas feeling.

This article provides marketing information about the products of Finax, o.c.p., a.s.