Buckle up: Tips to trim the budget this Christmas
Are you feeling the pinch? Perhaps you’ve already cut back on discretionary spending. Or are contemplating a much more frugal Christmas season.
You’re not alone. New research shows while Australians are tipped to spend almost $5 billion on online shopping in the leadup to Christmas this year, almost half of those surveyed are planning to spend less than the same time in 2022. And almost 80 percent said they plan to cut back on non-essential spending in the same period.
Christmas crackers: Last-minute gifts worth giving
The panic rises as the clock ticks ever closer to Christmas Day. What happened to all our good intentions with gifts for our loved ones?
Every year, we promise ourselves that next year we’ll get organised earlier and start a present cupboard. We’ll make a list of the things our loved ones like and keep an eye out for the sales and pop those precious items in the cupboard ready to be wrapped when the time comes. It makes financial sense, too, because we’re spreading our spending over the year, rather than copping it one big hit.
Great idea in theory. But, every year, we’re staring down the barrel of another last-minute rush to fill those stockings and pop something extra under the Christmas tree. Will we ever learn?
Need to return a Christmas gift? Here’s how to do it with style
So you really don’t like that floral nightie Nana sent you? The shoes you got for your fashion-conscious son are just ‘so last year’? Your daughter received two of the same Nintendo game?
Yes, it’s Christmas and we’ve all received – and given – presents that just aren’t quite right. In the back of our minds, we’re wishing it was a gift card instead. No matter the reason, there’s no need to feel embarrassed about returning them.
Christmas shoppers need to get cracking now
The silly season is almost upon us but if you’re planning the usual last-minute shopping blitz, think again.
Consumer expert Jo Ucukalo says Covid-19 has affected not just our buying habits - with many ordering online for the first time during the pandemic - but the time it takes to get those goodies to our door.