Christmas 2014: save money & reduce stress NOW

I don’t know about you, but I can’t bring myself to trudge from shop to shop in the January sales. I don’t know how people have the energy, the willpower or the money to do it. In all senses of the word, I am SPENT.

So no, this isn’t a post listing all the current bargains. If that’s what you’re after, I’d suggest you visit some of the links I posted here, just before Christmas: these were the retailers with all the biggest and best bargains, slashing their prices even before Christmas Day was upon us. Without naming names I have noticed that in certain cases, the “January sale” is suspiciously identical to the store’s “run-up-to-Christmas sale”: similar products with similar discounts. Yawn.

As in years gone by, I am holding my nerve and waiting until the end of the month, which is when most stores start slash-slash-slashing at their sale prices, and the final reductions are made. Come play the long game with me! This year I may be on the lookout for a new hoover: my trusty old VAX 121 vacuum is about 30 years old and, although I have been replacing parts as needed, I’ve been having some problems with it of late. I also have an obsession with this green trench coat from Hobbs, which has already been reduced by £80 but remains ridiculously expensive; I need to find a way to get it for a sliver of the sale price, short of ram-raiding the Harrogate branch. All suggestions welcomed.

In the meantime I would like to suggest, humbly, that if you buy one thing in the sales right now, you make it this:

CHRISTMAS GOODIES!

Aw, come on – don’t look at me like that. I know you are all Christmassed out. We all are. But Christmas 2014 starts here: at shops and supermarkets up and down the country, Christmas products and gifts have now been slashed to crazy-low prices.

My advice? If you have the money to spare, stock up now. Pack the Christmas goodies away.Then unpack them again in December, when you can count yourself quids in, marvel at your money-saving nous.

So far I have picked up a pack of Asda crackers reduced to 25p (above) and a gorgeous Gruffalo’s Child advent calendar from a posh department store in Harrogate, for half-price. I’m also in the market for cards and gifts.

Keep your eye out, and there are bargains agogo. The best of them seem to be available in-store rather than online, and in some cases the reductions vary between stores and areas. I recommend that you keep an eye on this page of Hot UK Deals for the latest discounts; HDUK readers seem to be particularly good at spotting and sharing them.

Here are a few of the latest deals and reductions that have been spotted:

• Asda: girl’s Christmas tree outfit reduced from £8 to 50p.
• Sainsburys: luxury crackers reduced from £15 to £1.50.
• Sainsburys: Christmas wrapping paper reduced to 20p.
• Sainsburys: Hello Kitty bubble bath reduced from £7 to 70p.
• Sainsburys: Gruffalo apple bath fizzers reduced from £3 to 40p. (I like to stock up on gifts like these, because they are always popular and keep perfectly well.)
• Sainsburys: Christmas tree decorations reduced to 20p.
• Sainsburys: gift tags reduced to 10p.
• Card Factory: all Christmas merchandise half-price. Boxes of Christmas cards for 99p. Six rolls of wrapping paper for £1.
• Asda: rolls of wrapping paper for 1p – 25p, depending on store.
• Argos: 48-pack of Christmas tree baubles reduced from £9.99 to £1.99.
• Argos: Jumbo red Christmas stocking reduced from £5.99 to £0.99.
• Argos: Chad Valley Christmas craft set reduced from £19.99 to £4.99. This is a kit for kids to make cards, decorations and so on.
• Asda: Christmas tree decorations scanning at 2p each at selected stores.
• Waitrose: rolls of wrapping paper for 12p – 15p each.
• Homebase: 6ft Rocky Mountain Christmas tree reduced from £139.99 to £10.

If you have the space to store this stuff, go for it. And trust me: Christmas 2014 may seem a long way away now, but once it rolls around again you’ll be congratulating yourself on having done half the Christmas prep work already.