hamper clubs/saving clubs....

postingalwaysposting

you know the ones, that you pay to through the year to save up for a variety of food/itmes/vouchers. Do you think they are a good idea?

we used them last year and previous years but not this year and ok, at the end of the month we had an extra £20+ pounds but now (we usually get the vouchers etc now) buying xmas presents and food it is getting hard!

I know savings will be a better option but does anyone still use these? i am really thinking about starting again next year.......any opinons :xmassmile

HOLsale

why not take the same amount of money you paid them each month and dedicate that to buying stuff throughout the year

you can take advantage of sales and stow things away in a cupboard.

i use my linen cupboard and it becomes fuller and fuller throughout the year but it's so good to know that by october there's enough there to have a decent christmas even if for some reason i can't buy anything more

i stock up on food for christmas too throughout the year as much of it's non perishables i use novemeber and december to get the stuff that needs the freezer and fridge with money set aside for that...

really helps and saves me a fortune

postingalwaysposting

I do the sale thing anyway holsale i have three hiding places lol but i seem to always spend money on some presents in december, this year has been pretty tough as i lost my job (got a new one though) but I just wondered if many of you done this?

inkie

I combine the club and the sales - I order £120 worth of choice vouchers (covers a range of high st sghops that I usually spend in) but instead of buying the gifts prior to christmas, I use them in the sales after christmas to buy the prezzies for the next year!

So I get double the value as I buy stuff at half price (or less, preferably less!,) and it costs me £20 per month in vouchers, which is paid for by June!

apprentice_tycoon

We build up a Christmas fund by saving the loose change in a jar. We save 10 pence and lower coins. This amounts to around £50 per year, if you need to save more then perhaps if you save 20 pence and lower. We check pockets and purses everyday to put in the jar.
You can then take the cash every now and again to a saving account or to the supermarket for the saving stamps if you like, I keep ours in the jar as a visual reminder!

kiwichick

Hiya,

I was wondering the same thing a few days ago and came to the conclusion that I needed to work out how much to save. I've made a listof ALL the birthday I buy for, xmas pressents I need to get and how many to get for mothers day (thanks Mrs B!) etc. I've assigned an amount to each and added the lot up, then divided by 12 to give me the monthly save.

Now, rather than put that amount into a hamper/voucher club I've opened a savings acc and each month that amount is transferred. This way I can take advantage of bits on offer as earlier posters recommended. I've been told that the cards shops put a lot of their xmas stock on offer in the new year so will buy the cardsfor xmas 2006 in jan and put them aside.

If I see bits on 3 for 2 that I know the kids will like then I can grab them and put them in the loft for later on.

The account I have opened is an e-savings one with Nationwide which pays interest annually of 4.75% so this will earn me a few more pennies.

I've also started to do online survey which can pay out in vouchers, these also get put aside, as do boots points/nectar points to go towards xmas 06.

This way I hope that next year I can, for the first time ever, not put xmas on credit cards. I am very excited about it!

I also think that the hampers in those clubs are a rip off, you would be better putting that money aside also as you can get the same contents yourself for a lesser price.

Hope you dont mind the ramble!
Al.

Queenie

I only ever used one ONCE - I realised I was better off saving in my own saving account

You may like to read one of Martins Articles that was written with Christmas Savings in mind ... too late for this year, I know, but the article still makes an interesting read and another way of looking at things Take time to scroll down to the bottom of the page and read the other links too.


Saving Stamps Loophole - Incorporating this into your year long savings - plus related articles.

Hope that helps for next year.

bektoria

kiwichick wrote:

I've also started to do online survey which can pay out in vouchers, these also get put aside,

Would you mind if I asked where you registered for this ? It is something I would be interested in, especially if I could use them towards next Christmas !

Thanks,
Bek

mummytofour

This yr things are pretty tight, I was lucky tho, as back in june I bought loads of stuff in the summer sale, it turns out I bought sooo much I dont need to buy anything more for my children at least. I am going to do the same for next xmas. However I will I hope start to save some money which I will put in a savings umm jar ( im better with these than acc as I can see the money!) then if I see something I can use the money from the jar to buy with. Im just going to use this for my kids tho as I dont really buy for anybody else if I can help it!

Vxx

calleyw

bektoria wrote:

Would you mind if I asked where you registered for this ? It is something I would be interested in, especially if I could use them towards next Christmas !

Thanks,
Bek

There is one called pinecone research that pay out £4 in luncheon vouchers for each survey completed.

You can't be referred and the only way to join up is to find a banner advert on a webpage. And that is not easy.

I only get a survey once every 2/3 months but better than nothing. And the last lot of vouchers I got will be used to buy my turkey.

Yours

Calley

SAHARA

I get vouchers, and the reason is that if i do a christmas savings card, or put the money aside, it ends up getting spent midway through the year, so I run a voucher agency, and get my vouchers through it. They send them out at the beginning of November, which is plenty of time to get organised, and I also made £80 in commission.