With the average household carrying over £7,800 of loans and credit card balances, you wouldn't be alone if you wondered how to save money ahead of the holidays. One of the best ways to have a debt-free Christmas is to save money ahead of time. The earlier you start, the more you can save. Even so, starting to save in the autumn can still help you pay for gifts, food, drink and other expenses so that you don't start the new year with more debt. If you can't find the money from your regular income, there are many creative ways to earn extra money so you can give your family the Christmas you desire.
Save Money Each Week for a Debt-Free Christmas
The earlier you start to save in the year for Christmas, the more money you'll have set aside for Christmas gifts, food and drink, decorations and other expenses related to providing your family with a festive holiday season. That said, even those starting later in the year can still sock away a nice pot of money for Christmas. Our tables and charts below show how much you could save whether you start on 1 January, 1 November—or any month in between.
For example, if you start saving in January you'll only need to save £10 a week to have over £500 set aside for Christmas; if you wait until July 1st to start saving you'll need to put away £20 each week to get the same £500 pot for Christmas expenses.
| Amount you can save for Christmas depends on when you start saving |
|---|
| Save £10 a week | Save £15 a week | Save £20 a week |
| 1 January | £511 | £767 | £1,023 |
| 1 February | £467 | £701 | £934 |
| 1 March | £427 | £641 | £854 |
| 1 April | £383 | £574 | £766 |
| 1 May | £340 | £510 | £680 |
| 1 June | £296 | £444 | £591 |
| 1 July | £253 | £379 | £506 |
| 1 August | £209 | £313 | £417 |
| 1 September | £164 | £246 | £329 |
| 1 October | £121 | £182 | £243 |
| 1 November | £77 | £116 | £154 |
Christmas Budget by Month You Start Saving
Christmas money if you start saving in January
| Amount you can set aside for Christmas if you start saving on 1 January |
|---|
| Weekly savings | Christmas pot |
| £5 | £256 |
| £10 | £511 |
| £15 | £767 |
| £20 | £1,023 |
| £30 | £1,534 |
| £50 | £2,557 |
Christmas money if you start saving in February
| Amount you can set aside for Christmas if you start saving on 1 February |
|---|
| Weekly savings | Christmas pot |
| £5 | £234 |
| £10 | £467 |
| £15 | £701 |
| £20 | £934 |
| £30 | £1,401 |
| £50 | £2,336 |
Christmas money if you start saving in March
| Amount you can set aside for Christmas if you start saving on 1 March |
|---|
| Weekly savings | Christmas pot |
| £5 | £214 |
| £10 | £427 |
| £15 | £641 |
| £20 | £854 |
| £30 | £1,281 |
| £50 | £2,136 |
Christmas money if you start saving in April
| Amount you can set aside for Christmas if you start saving on 1 April |
|---|
| Weekly savings | Christmas pot |
| £5 | £191 |
| £10 | £383 |
| £15 | £574 |
| £20 | £766 |
| £30 | £1,149 |
| £50 | £1,914 |
Christmas money if you start saving in May
| Amount you can set aside for Christmas if you start saving on 1 May |
|---|
| Weekly savings | Christmas pot |
| £5 | £170 |
| £10 | £340 |
| £15 | £510 |
| £20 | £680 |
| £30 | £1,020 |
| £50 | £1,700 |
Christmas money if you start saving in June
| Amount you can set aside for Christmas if you start saving on 1 June |
|---|
| Weekly savings | Christmas pot |
| £5 | £148 |
| £10 | £296 |
| £15 | £444 |
| £20 | £591 |
| £30 | £887 |
| £50 | £1,479 |
Christmas money if you start saving in July
| Amount you can set aside for Christmas if you start saving on 1 July |
|---|
| Weekly savings | Christmas pot |
| £5 | £126 |
| £10 | £253 |
| £15 | £379 |
| £20 | £506 |
| £30 | £759 |
| £50 | £1,264 |
Christmas money if you start saving in August
| Amount you can set aside for Christmas if you start saving on 1 August |
|---|
| Weekly savings | Christmas pot |
| £5 | £104 |
| £10 | £209 |
| £15 | £313 |
| £20 | £417 |
| £30 | £626 |
| £50 | £1,043 |
Christmas money if you start saving in September
| Amount you can set aside for Christmas if you start saving on 1 September |
|---|
| Weekly savings | Christmas pot |
| £5 | £82 |
| £10 | £164 |
| £15 | £246 |
| £20 | £329 |
| £30 | £493 |
| £50 | £821 |
Christmas money if you start saving in October
| Amount you can set aside for Christmas if you start saving on 1 October |
|---|
| Weekly savings | Christmas pot |
| £5 | £61 |
| £10 | £121 |
| £15 | £182 |
| £20 | £243 |
| £30 | £364 |
| £50 | £607 |
Christmas money if you start saving in November
| Amount you can set aside for Christmas if you start saving on 1 November |
|---|
| Weekly savings | Christmas pot |
| £5 | £39 |
| £10 | £77 |
| £15 | £116 |
| £20 | £154 |
| £30 | £231 |
| £50 | £386 |
