Today I thought I’d share with you my top 5 tips for doing Christmas shopping on a budget! I know a lot of us a students with not that much money behind us, so sticking to a budget is probably the best idea around Christmas time.

1. Look out for student discounts. I mean, this tip applies to everyday life all year round, but if you have an idea of a shop or brand you want to buy something from, check if there are any student discounts first. Places like UniDays and StudentBeans are my first stops, but some stores take your student card as proof that you’re a student and other places might have different ways to get a little percentage off your total. It can really help, especially if you’re buying something significant or a lot of things from one store!
2. Use loyalty schemes. This tip might be a little too late for you to reap the rewards this Christmas, but it could save you some money next Christmas! Some of my favourites are Tesco Clubcard, Waterstones Plus, and Superdrug’s BeautyCard. With all of these, you collect points and can use those points instead of your own money during your next shop! Other loyalty cards can get you free things, and becoming a member of schemes like this can mean you get the first look at new items or offers available via email.
3. Check your balance regularly. I don’t want this list to include too many general budgeting tips but this one I think is especially important around Christmas. It’s very easy to ignore your bank balance and just spend, spend, spend, but you really should keep an eye on your spending to make sure you still have enough money to live! You shouldn’t sacrifice money for food or bills just to buy Christmas presents.
4. Buy from discount/outlet stores. Sometimes, the place you’ll get the cheapest price for something isn’t the first place you’d think of. For example, if you want to buy a pair of Adidas trainers, an Adidas store or the Adidas website probably isn’t going to give you the best price. I’d recommend ASOS Outlet as I find that a lot of the items on there aren’t actually out of season yet, they’re maybe just not selling as quickly as ASOS want them to. As well as this, some of the more gimmicky Christmas presents you might find in supermarkets will be so much cheaper in places like B&M, Savers, Bodycare etc. You just have to compare!
5. Look out for sales! There are loadssss of sales in November and December, you just need to be ready to pounce on them when they happen! Some items are just bound to go out of stock, but, if you’re prepared, this is one of the best ways to get your hands on items you need for a cheaper price. Signing up for emails from brands you like can really help with this.

I hope this helped and good luck with the rest of your Christmas shopping!