Summer can be an expensive time of year; going on holiday with the family, childcare and activities over the school holidays and additional extras for your garden so you can sit out and enjoy it. However now we are heading into autumn it’s time to look to see how you can save money this winter, keeping your bills down, but fun and enjoyment up!

Christmas

Pretty much there is no getting away from Christmas, unless you up sticks and go away (this will still cost you though). So how can you ensure you don’t overspend, well my advice is to plan, plan, plan. Now ideally you want to start planning in January picking up festive items in the post-Christmas sales and then either saving small amounts each month for Christmas purchases, or picking up gifts throughout the year when offers are on.

But if you’re just coming to this now then, I would suggest start now! Save some money each week for a Christmas fund, buy and freeze, food to use and make use of alcohol offers to get stocked up. Finally also make sure you take advantage of the sales, especially Black Friday, check out this infographic which has been created by online money saving and voucher code website My Voucher Codes, it shows how popular these sales are and what savings you can make. They should know, they are the one stop shop for the best offers. You should also look at review websites like On

ly Reviews to make sure you get the best deals on any big presents you’re looking to buy for family and friends.

Heating

First suggestion is to make sure you are on the best deal possible for your energy supplier. Use comparison websites to see what else is out there, if there is a better deal switch. Smart meters are also very useful, they can help you understand better how much energy you use and look at how to reduce this if you’re wasting any. In addition is your home as insulated as it could be, using a smart meter will help, but it’s worthwhile getting your home rated, if you have not had one before and looking to see if you can make your home warmer without turning the heating.

Bills

So your still paying off your holiday, but Christmas is coming up, are you going to be able to manage your bills? Or will you be left in dire straits in January like thousands of others? Before you start adding more to your personal debt look at what you’re currently paying. Are you paying high rates of interest, do you have multiple credit cards, store cards and an overdraft? You could consolidate payments by taking out a loan to pay off all these outgoings. You will then only be paying one off a month which will help you keep a better eye on interest rates and how much you payback.