| Christmas is one of the busiest times of year. There | | | | only have to buy one present. You can keep the gifts |
| are so many things to think of. People have usually got | | | | anonymous or not depending on your preference. |
| family or friends visiting, the Christmas meal to cook, | | | | Another thing you can look at doing this Christmas if |
| gifts to buy and wrap and decorations to put up. It can | | | | you want to save some money is consider making |
| also be a very expensive time of year. Many people | | | | gifts. You can bake cookies or cakes, or make gifts |
| report huge regrets every January when they have | | | | using some craft you are good at or enjoy such as |
| over spent on Christmas presents and all the related | | | | knitting, cross-stitching or patch working. You can also |
| costs. | | | | make your own Christmas cards. This can be fun and |
| If you are worried about finances this Christmas, or | | | | many people will appreciate the personal touch. |
| want to cut down a little on expenses there are a few | | | | Debt Consolidation |
| simple money saving tips you can take. | | | | Christmas shouldn't be all about saving money, but it |
| Secret Santa | | | | shouldn't be about falling into debt either. It is generous |
| First of all there are gifts. Depending on the size of | | | | to give but no one expects you to give more than you |
| your family you may spend a lot of money on gifts | | | | can afford. If you are having trouble with debts then |
| over the Christmas period. One of the things you might | | | | you shouldn't be over spending this Christmas. There |
| consider doing is arranging a secret Santa. These are | | | | are many things you can do to get debts back under |
| a great way to cut down on gift costs and can also | | | | control. One option would be debt consolidation. This |
| be a lot of fun. How it works is you get a group of | | | | means taking out a loan to pay off all your existing |
| friends or family members together and put | | | | debts. The interest rates will be far lower than those |
| everyone's name in a hat. Then you each pick a name | | | | on other debts such as credit cards and the savings |
| from the hat at random. This is the person you buy a | | | | will give you the chance you need to get your finances |
| present for. The game guarantees that everyone gets | | | | back under control. |
| a present while at the same time meaning that you | | | | |