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30% of Aussies worry their Christmas plans won’t live up to their families’ expectations, so they overspend to compensate.

Olivia White – House of White blogger  has managed to save $30,000 in just 12 months, and shares her money saving tips to help you stay out of debt, to combat Christmas perfection and manage seasonal stress.

It’s officially December and as shopping centres start to decorate with beautiful trees and ornaments, Christmas jingles play, and neighbours turn on Christmas lights, many Aussies are starting to feel the strain and wondering “am I doing enough?” ,“have I spent too much?” and “have I bought the right gift?”

Not Always a Time Of Joy

According to new research from online marketplace Groupon Australia, the festive season is not always a time of joy and unrealistic expectations around creating the perfect Christmas for your loved ones may be the culprit.

● Almost two in five (38%) Aussies say they feel pressured to spend more than they would like to at Christmas time, overspending an average of $387.47 each

● 55% of Aussie parents who admit feeling pressured to spend more at Christmas time say they do so because they want their family to feel spoiled

● Almost two-fifths (39%) of Aussies spend over $1,000 on Christmas-related items including gifts and entertaining throughout the festive season

To help Aussie families manage Christmas anxiety and keep a festive cheer, Groupon has joined forces with Olivia White, to show Aussies the unfiltered realities of her own Christmas and offer advice on how to make their lives easier, and more fun, during the festive period.

Stressful And Chaotic

“While we all love creating beautiful images of our families and special celebrations to share online, it’s important not to stress about perfection and keeping up appearances at this time of year. The reality is Christmas is a stressful and chaotic event for everyone, and it’s actually OK to let go of the pressures to curate the perfect Christmas and spend too much time and money on gifts and entertaining, Olivia said.

“Instead, make sure you focus on what really counts – your sanity and time with your family – and get crafty when it comes to fun experiences and gift-giving. It’s time we all took the filter off the unrealistic image of a perfect Christmas and made it about creating a stress-free celebration you’ll really enjoy.”

To keep bank balances in check and stress levels to a minimum, Olivia White has put together her list of #ChristmasUnfiltered miracle hacks to help relieve seasonal stress:

1. Find a site that can do both: I like to use online shopping sites like Groupon to find amazing deals when I need to buy Christmas-related items such as Christmas lights and decorations, as well as family-friendly experiences for all ages. Not only is it a one-stop shop but it can also be a huge time saver, especially when using the free app which you can use anywhere, anytime. The great value also means you can avoid overspending if you’re on a tight budget or have lots of presents to purchase. It’s all about shopping smarter!

2. Choose presence over presents: The most important thing for me at Christmas is spending quality time with my family and enjoying the special moments. This means letting go of needing everything to be perfect and instead embracing the chaos and running with it. Reality check: having fun with my family is so much better than a perfect dinner party! Do a little bit of Christmas planning each day that doesn’t delve into your family time so you get the best of both worlds.

3. Give gifts that last a lifetime: Instead of splurging on items that may never get used, think about gifting an experience. Groupon offers a range of giftable experiences from delicious dining outings, beauty treatments, weekend getaways, sporting activities like golf or horse-riding, and more. It’s also the perfect way to grab a quick deal if you’re guilty of leaving your Christmas shopping to the last minute. Just print it out, wrap it up and add it to the Christmas tree as a little decoration and keep the receiver guessing what you’ve got them.

4. Secret Santa savers: For the adults of the family, think about doing a mini Kris-Kringle. You won’t have to splurge on all members of the family and everyone is included. Set a budget you can all spend so nobody feels pressure to out-do!

What are you festive money-saving tips? Share them in the comments below

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  • If she is saving $30,000 in a year then her income must be rather large. My household income is $31,000 and there is no way i could save $30,000 of it.
    I live very frugally as is. I love Christmas and buy all my things like christmas napkins and wrapping paper in the after Christmas sales when everything is super cheap. I buy gifts throughout the year when items are on sale and I spread the grocery shop over 4 weeks. I do surveys during the year and use my points for gift cards to spend on groceries or gifts.

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  • I love to see my friends and families faces light up when they open presents. Especially ones I’ve been keeping a secret about because I made or purchased something I knew they’re would love or always wanted. Christmas is about loved ones and showing them you care.

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  • I don’t feel pressured, but just like to give.

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  • I buy all my Christmas wrap, Christmas cards etc., in the New Year sales. Its saves so much money.

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  • Start early, have a list and shop around, I research first online then hit the stores

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  • This year for the adults in my family I made chocolate truffles and in Turkish delight and toblerone flavours I used macona coffee jars from the year I had saved. These were a hit very time consuming but my family loved them and I did save a lot of money. We have decided next Xmas we will all bake our presents for adults it will be wonderful to see what yummy treats I end up with!

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  • I haven’t done it myself yet as I only read about last week. So I will be doing next year. You buy a $20 or $50 gift card each fortnight through the whole year (or how ever much you can afford) and should enough money saved for presents, food etc for Christmas.


    • This is a good idea isn’t it! I agree with doing something like this. We save our left over shopping money and at the end of the week anything left in the budget for that week goes into a jar. We also save all our woolworths dollars and this adds up heaps so we save alot when we really need it!

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  • I love giving presents, but more often than not they are fresh fruit and veg from the garden and my neighbours always know that this is my way of giving them something they really cannot buy. Home grown always tastes so much better and they all appreciate it along with a small bought gift for each of their children. Keeps the costs down too.


    • These are beautiful gifts indeed !

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  • I only and always buy items that are on sale. I make a list and with so many sales this year (more than I’ve ever seen), I’ve waited and bought everything cheaper. It’s all about the list, too. Otherwise I could feel the temptation to go crazy.

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  • With 4 kids and some gifts to friends, $1000 is easily spent.

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  • That’s how it used to be once – about time it came back to that again.

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  • We make and stick to a budget and have cut out any items and food and drinks that are not essential or on the list. There is no impulse purchasing.

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  • You have to earn enough to do that. Pretty hard if you’re a widow with a disabled child who is also allergic to some medications and can only have the very expensive ones.


    • Aw bless, that must be hard indeed.

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  • She saved $30k? Thats half our income. She must have been spending quite a bit on stuff she didn’t need to find that much to cut back.


    • Good point – seems like a lot of money I agree. I write everything I spend down – it is good accountability and a visual of where money is going.



      • I thought the same thing, that’s a huge amount of cash to have saved!

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  • We are sensible at Xmas. One present from us, one from the grandparents (and we try to liaise on them combining with the other set of grandparents for larger items) and one from Santa. We have been finding it lovely to gift experiences rather than plastic toys too. A special outing to the aquarium or a fun day at the movies is pretty special for our kids.

    Reply

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