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 Whilst it is the most wonderful time of the year, the downside of Christmas cheer is that with come a lot of expenses, and recent events have put many people into a difficult financial position. The best way to combat these costs is to prepare yourself early, so that you can relax and enjoy the holiday season, rather than spend it being stressed about money. 

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The first step is to figure out how much money you will need for the Christmas period, by adding up all of the expenses. Things to consider may include:

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Once you have added together all of your costs, minus the amount of money from your savings that you plan to put towards Christmas. Next, you need to divide that by the number of weeks until Christmas (currently 10). 

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So if your costs come to £1110, but you have £120 saved up already, you need to save another £990. £990/10 = £99. This is the amount of money that you will need to put aside each week, whether it's in a piggy bank or savings account. 

To make this easier, you may need to consider which little luxuries you can go without for the next 10 weeks. Maybe you can take a flask of coffee from home out with you instead of buying coffee, or shave £10 off your weekly food shop by cooking cheaper meals. Ask for makeup and clothes as Christmas presents rather than buying them for yourself now.

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Another useful tip is to empty all of the change out from your pockets into a jar at the end of every day - this is now your Christmas savings jar, and you'll be surprised by how much it can build up in just 10 weeks. 

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If you're feeling swamped it may be worth considering trying to make a little extra money for Christmas. Maybe you can pick up a Saturday job to make an extra £70 per week - remember, it's only for 10 weeks. Maybe you have things that you could sell, or you can offer your services to help other busy people prepare for Christmas. Consider taking part in online surveys or market research to add to your Christmas funds. 

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When shopping for your all-important Christmas party dress, look around for the sales, and discount codes. Just because you've found a lovely dress on one website, doesn't mean it isn't available on others for cheaper - it's always worth checking ebay, too. 

Book your holiday beauty treatments at Bliss with one of our online packages to save money.

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