4 quick money-saving tips for students this Christmas

Stick with these short tips to ensure a smooth Christmas, this year and next

(AFP/Getty)

Ah, Christmas. The most expensive time of year as cash-strapped students across the land wonder whether, in the run up to the big day, to skip dinners for a week in order to afford that expensive scent their other half has been eyeing-up for the past two months. Sound familiar? If so, here are the top four ways to ensure you don’t overspend over the festive period into the new year:

1) Create a dummy email

Over the Christmas period, there will be many sign-up offers promoting ten to 20 per cent off if you sign up to a newsletter. Create a new email and sign up so you don’t get spam flowing into your own private email.

E-retailers have flash-sales over Christmas for users who are signed up to their mailing list. Go onto the websites you buy from and sign-up with this dummy email. That way, you can grab a bargain as and when you want without swimming in spam.

2) Unidays and Student Beans

Hopefully, students know all about these two discount apps. They allow students to save mountains of money by logging in with their university or college email. Simply confirm the email to become a member.

When buying online, log onto Unidays/Student Beans and look for the discount for the desired website, copy and paste the code, and enter it on the voucher code box when purchasing. Make sure the delivery will be with you in time. All websites should give you an end date for Christmas shopping delivery dates.

3) Secret Santa

Do you have a group of friends you feel you have to buy for? Just communicate with one another, suggest Secret Santa, and stick to a spending limit of around £10. This way, everybody gets a present with no-one left out. It makes the Christmas Eve drinks out a whole lot better.

4) Switch off before leaving for home

Many students will be leaving for home soon, so make sure everything is off, including the boiler, in order to save money. Same goes for the Wi-Fi and TV - this will save you money for the January sales.