Households looking to spread the cost of Christmas shopping are being encouraged to start saving now with a simple savings challenge that could build a festive spending pot worth more than £215 by Christmas Eve.
With Christmas less than six months away, starting saving now could help families avoid relying on credit cards, loans or buy now pay later schemes during the festive season.
How the Reverse 1p Savings Challenge Works
It's a simple twist on the 1p daily savings challenge which people usually start at the beginning of the year to potentially set aside £667 by the end of December. However, it can be started at any time and the midway point of the year is a good place to start, especially if you get paid monthly.
New figures from price comparison website idealo suggest one in five Brits were forced to borrow money to cover Christmas spending last year, while only around a quarter of people currently have dedicated savings set aside for the festive period.
The company is now encouraging households to try a reverse 1p savings challenge, where people begin by setting aside a specific amount each day (or a lump sum on pay day) and reduce the amount by one penny every day until Christmas Eve.
By December, the daily amounts become much smaller, with savers putting aside just 24p on December 1 and 1p on Christmas Eve.
Monthly Savings Targets
According to the calculations, anyone sticking to the challenge between now and December 24 could build savings of £215.28.
- June: Set aside £57.75 from your June pay to get the savings challenge started
- July: daily contributions fall from £1.77 to £1.47, with a monthly total saving of £50.22
- August: daily contributions fall from £1.46 to £1.16, with a monthly total saving of £40.61
- September: daily contributions fall from £1.15 to £0.86, with a monthly total saving of £30.15
- October: daily contributions fall from £0.85 to £0.55, with a monthly total saving of £21.70
- November: daily contributions fall from £0.54 to £0.25, with a monthly total saving of £11.85
- December (1 to 24): daily contributions fall from £0.24 to £0.01, with a monthly total saving of £3.00
Total saved by Christmas Eve: £215.28
Flexibility and Benefits
The challenge can help spread the cost of Christmas across several months rather than leaving households struggling to find extra money towards the end of the year.
Katy Phillips from idealo said: “While I wouldn’t recommend leaving Christmas shopping until the last minute, having money already set aside gives shoppers far more flexibility when it comes to making the most of seasonal sales and discounts.
“Rather than stretching monthly budgets, households will already have dedicated funds saved to spend when deals appear across the year, helping them maximise the value of their savings.”
She also encouraged shoppers to compare prices and use alerts to monitor deals on popular gifts before the festive rush begins.
Ms Phillips added: "Setting up price alerts and researching the price history of popular Christmas gifts is another clever way of making the most of festive budgets, helping Brits identify genuine deals and avoid paying inflated prices during the busiest shopping periods."
People taking part in the challenge could keep the money in a separate savings account or banking app savings pot to avoid accidentally spending it before Christmas shopping begins later in the year.
