I save for Christmas all year round without actually ‘saving’ any actual money so I thought I’d make my first official post of 2024 a post telling you how I do it.
I’ve realised that, pretty much every year, I share this information in one of my five frugal things post later on in the year when I’m about ready to cash in all my little savings posts and by that point, it’s way too late for you guys to do something similar so this year, you’re getting it a lot earlier so there’s no excuse. 🙂
Last year was a quiet year for my savings as I was barely online but in previous years, I’ve genuinely managed to pay for our whole Christmas using these methods. Even with a year where I didn’t put in very much effort at all, I still managed to cash out £65 worth of Amazon vouchers and £30 cash.
Although, I should say that the cash amount would have been higher even with my minimal effort but I cashed out from TopCashback in the Summer too as we had lots of fun planned so the £73 I had in there was transferred to my bank account to help with that. And I cashed in around £40 of Amazon vouchers earlier in the year too as I needed to order something from Amazon and it was the week before payday.
So, here’s the main ways that I ‘save’ for Christmas throughout the year…
Swagbucks
I reckon when I was posting regularly on here, I used to talk about Swagbucks at least once a month as I’m that big a fan. I signed up a few years ago as part of a blogger challenge, got all into it, wrote about it and then promptly forgot about it until I had a few minutes one day so thought I’d try and earn some extra points on there. I went back on and my account had £270 worth of points in there as so many of you had signed up and loved it following my initial post. Seeing how many points you guys were all earning each week really started me off again and I’ve been the biggest fan ever since.
Basically, you earn points (called Swagbucks ‘SB’) for completing simple online tasks like watching videos and completing online surveys among other things. You can then redeem your SB for one of the hundreds of different gift card options or if you prefer, you can get the money paid into your Paypal account. The ‘cash out’ threshold is super low with vouchers on there for £3 and upwards.
This post shares nine different ways that you can earn Swagbucks. Or you can just go straight over and sign up (if you use my referral link then I will be very happy haha).
I would pop on once a week while you’re watching TV and enjoy seeing your Swagbucks balance build through the year then when you realise how amazing it is, tell all your friends and get them to sign up with your referral link and earn points when they earn points. Your Christmas shopping self will thank you if you do!
Oh My Dosh
I love Oh My Dosh and again, have shared it a few times as it’s so easy to earn money on there! I’ve written about ways to make a quick £50 and then how to earn £10 in half an hour with a three day pay out timescale – both of which you can read about in this post.
I don’t make a fortune from this one if I’m honest because I’ve done most of the well paying ‘no spend’ offers and I prefer to use Swagbucks when I have time to earn points. I do still try and check in monthly though to see what new ones they have added.
I am still a huge fan of it for anyone who hasn’t signed up to it in the past as you will still have the opportunity to do all the no spend offers that I’ve worked my way through and it’s pretty easy to earn a nice amount quite quickly with little effort.
At the time I’m writing this, it looks like there’s a £2 sign up bonus too which will get you off to a good start. My referral link is here if you fancy signing up.
With this one, take the time to do all the offers you can initially and then pop back on once a fortnight or once a month to see what’s new.
Top Cashback
This one has huge potential to both save you money and also earn you money throughout the year and if you’re not already a member then I can’t recommend it highly enough! TopCashBack is a website that allows you to earn cashback on purchases that you make online with over 4,000 different retailers.
You can earn money every time you click through from the TopCashBack website and buy something from one of the many retailers that they work with! It’s even easier if you install their browser extension which pops up when you’re browsing a TopCashBack merchant to remind you to shop via them.
You can use it when you compare prices for insurance and utilities to earn money by switching to new providers who could save you money too!
Honestly, it’s a no-brainer so please do sign up – if you use my referral link then you get a £10 bonus too!
Don’t forget the browser extension for this one as it’s a godsend when it comes to remembering to go via TopCahback. It honestly pops up to remind you and has a handy little link to log you in without leaving your basket on whatever site you’re on. It’s just brilliant.
I definitely recommend signing up to all three of the above and guarantee that if you do, and you save your earnings throughout the year then you’ll be super thankful you did when it comes to next year’s Christmas shopping!
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