Tesco Mobile #XmasSavingsTips Blogger Challenge

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It's a pleasure to be asked by BritMums and Tesco Mobile to share my #XmasSavingsTips. Being on a limited budget I need to make sure that Christmas doesn't blow a big hole in my finances! So here are my money saving tips:



1) Budget

Well ahead of the shopping season set your Christmas budget. You know how much you can actually afford so don't go over the top. I tell my children the maximum I will spend on each of their main presents to manage their expectations (no Xbox 360's at our house!).



2) Save

A bit late for this Christmas but put money on one side each month to a Christmas pot. This can either be in the form of a savings account, cash at home or in my case high street vouchers which I pay in instalments for. You need to make sure that your savings match your budget! Don't over stretch with your overdraft or credit cards.



3) Vouchers and Offers

Now is a good time to use all those loyalty points and rewards you have built up over the year. I knocked £10 off my children's main presents that way leaving me extra for helping Santa fill their stockings! Be canny and look out for 3 for 2 offers or other ways to get more for your money.



4) Christmas Cards

Make your own ecards using a special photo from the year. In the past I've turned school portraits into cards. With most people being on email this can really keep costs down. Of course some aren't so be organised and post in plenty of time to use second class post..



5) Tesco Mobile

This Christmas Tesco Mobile is offering families some of the best deals on handsets and tariffs. Most notably the Samsung Galaxy Ace available for £12.50 a month including 500 free minutes, 5000 texts and 500 MB of data.

And the BlackBerry Curve 9320 - available on pay as you go for £125.

Why Tesco is great for Families:

* You can control your mobile spending with their capped tariff: This means that family members can't use any more than their allocated monthly minutes, texts and data and you don't end up with any nasty surprises on the bill at the end of the month.


* With two or more contracts you get extra perks with the Tesco Mobile Family perks offer - this means you can add all your family handsets onto one single bill and each member can choose from a selection of extra perks each month such as free texts, minutes or data.


* What's more, if you?re a Tesco Clubcard customer, you'll get triple points for every £1 you spend at Tesco Mobile (that's a lot of Pizza Express vouchers - Clubcard members you know what we mean!)




What #XmasSavingsTips can you share?