How to give big and spend small at Christmas

Australian financial planner and author Helen Baker interviewed on Spirit FM Saturday Show.

For smarter Christmas spending Helen suggests:

• Make the list and check it twice – add up the total and revisit how much you allocate per person
• Keep any savings you achieve from ‘buying smart’, think about the value not what you paid
• Don’t waste money on unwanted ‘stuff’, consider pooling money with others to buy something significant
• Gift a ‘make a difference’ voucher such as from World Vision (or buy a copy of Helen’s book which supports girls in developing countries)
• Give a voucher for your time that the recipient can use as they wish, or for a specific task/household job
• Do an experience together, take a photo, and create your own bauble from it for use at Christmas
• If you can, hold off buying presents until they are ‘on special’ during the year or at Boxing Day sales