THE kids’ summer holidays may only just be starting, but for some super organised mums, they’re already thinking about the festive season.
And it really pays to think ahead, as mum-of-two Jacqueline Buckland, 38, can prove – having saved £700 this year and already started to Christmas shop.
But if you’re not that organised, don’t worry – it’s never too late to start saving money.
Jacqueline, who lives in Manchester with her husband Phil, 39, and two children, aged four and six months, puts aside £50 into a separate bank account pot – as does her husband – every month.
She says: “I really recommend saving throughout the year as it takes the pressure off at the end of the year.
“Put the money in a separate account as soon as you get paid, to take away any temptation to spend later in the year.
“Spreading it out from now until Christmas is still better that doing it all at once, and it’s never too late – saving £100 a month from now is £500 by Christmas!”
Spreading out the financial burden across the year is something Jacqueline first started doing three years ago, as she likes to go all out to make the season special.
Jacqueline says: “I absolutely love Christmas – It’s my favourite time of year.
“Once the 1st December arrives, the decorations are up, the mulled wine is open and festive jumpers are on.
“Growing up, Christmas was very similar to what I do now.
“It’s very family and food orientated – my mum is an amazing cook and would still be pulling out various meats and cheeses well into January.”
Jacqueline sets a clear budget at the start of the year to cover the cost of Christmas, and makes sure she saves to fulfil it.
She says: “Our total budget is £1,300.
“We spend £50 per person on parents and siblings (£300), £100 on each of our boys (£200), around £300 on food and drink.
“Then £100 on each other (£200) and £200 on trips or days out and we’ve booked to see the Christmas lights at Dunham Massey on Christmas Eve.
“So far, we’ve saved £700, putting away £50 each since our December pay.”
Since adopting this technique, Jacqueline has noticed a huge impact.
She says: “Before we started doing this it meant I didn’t really have any money to do things in November and December, as I was buying presents with most of it.
“Putting the money away means it’s there for when we need it.
“I bought some stocking fillers in January – a stretchy snake and lizard that I got in the sale at a farm, then Christmas light tickets when they went on sale in April.
I then bought a main present in June during a summer sale and a jigsaw puzzle in June for my dad that I saw in a garden centre in a Father’s Day sale.
“The big supermarkets usually do a toy sale in November so I’ll buy bits then and presents I usually have finished by November.
“I tend to get things on Black Friday also, plus other bits throughout the year.”
Once the presents are sorted, soon Jacqueline will also start thinking about the food shop.
She says: “I normally put my turkey order into the butcher at the start of November.
“Then I’ll do a ‘cupboard’ shop of mince pies, nuts, party nibbles etc in mid December, then a fresh shop around the 22nd December.
“I see it as the highlight of the year, so I like to go all out in celebration!”
