- Up the Gains’ money expert Sammie Ellard-King reveals his best advice
- Bank-switch before Christmas to receive up to £200 in January in your account
- Be wary of retailers offering Boxing Day discounts that aren’t really cut-price
January can be a really difficult time financially – Christmas is often a real drain on the piggy bank with all the presents, food, travel and (hopefully) some time off.
What’s more, many people are paid earlier in December – for example, on 23rd instead of the end of the month – and then that paycheck has to last them an extra week.
Money worries combined with the weather and few events to look forward to, means the third Monday of January is known as Blue Monday, the most depressing day of the year.
Money expert Sammie Ellard-King is the founder of Up the Gains, a financial platform aimed at helping to get people financially fit.
He has plenty of advice for Brits looking to survive the January blues – and what you can do right now to stand you in good stead in the new year.
Bank-switch before Christmas
Bank-switching is becoming increasingly popular with the introduction of the Current Account Switch Service (CASS).
With CASS, you can easily switch which bank you hold your current account with, and receive a cash payment as reward.
Mr Ellard-King told MailOnline: “Bank-switching is massive at the moment; obviously with CASS opening up, people are actively looking at that now.
“If people submit that before Christmas, they can get the money in January, which is quite a nice thing to have at that time of year when you’ve overspent over Christmas.”
He added that it is “really easy” and that he has transferred three times already this year.
Nationwide are currently offering £200 if you open a FlexDirect account with them and switch from a different bank, including 2+ direct debits.
Alternatively, First Direct is ready to pay you £175 if you open a 1st Account and pay in £1000 within three months.
To access these rewards, open a new account with your chosen bank, then close and switch your old account using CASS via a request with your new bank.
The service automatically moves across all payments, direct debits and standing orders to the new account.
Cashback apps
Cashback apps, which pay you to go through them to spend with retailers, can be used throughout the year and then used to offset January, Mr Ellard-King explained.
He told MailOnline: “I leave all of the money in there throughout the year.
“That way, I can either cover Christmas or cover January when things are a bit tense.
“You can book yourself something nice away, to go away and get yourself out of those January blues.”
The money expert added that major apps like TopCashback and Cheddar are doing gift card cashbacks this year.
He said: “The interesting thing is, a stat came back and said children are really wanting to choose their own presents this year.
“So you could buy a gift card in the place of a normal present for someone and then get cashback on that.”
Be wary of Boxing Day and January sales
Mr Ellard-King warned that many retailers will advertise sales that are not actually saving you any money.
In actual fact, they are increasing their prices around this time, only to cut to normal price after Christmas and claim it is 25% off.
One way to outmaneuver them is to double-check the price history.
He told MailOnline: “Search online for the history of the prices before you purchase it.
“Because there’s a lot of retailers at the moment that are actually just marginally moving things up, so they just get more expensive, especially the likes of online retailers, who are unregulated.
“They can be extremely cheeky, they’ll throw the 25% off at you but actually you’re just buying it at retail (price), so do some digging.
“Google shopping is great for looking back, and you can literally just see what other retailers have done, you don’t have to get suckered into that.”
Don’t overlook supermarket own brands
A great way to save money on everything from your grocery shopping to make-up is to use so-called “dupes” or supermarket own brands.
Mr Ellard-King told MailOnline: “One of the big things is dupes, so Lidl and Aldi’s own brands are often saving you a third of the cost.
“I’ve seen makeup, I’ve seen other things with a third or more of a saving there.”
Side hustles
Anyone feeling particularly cash-strapped can use the period between Christmas and New Year to earn some extra cash, Mr Ellard-King suggested.
He told MailOnline: You’ve got online surveys, you’ve got market research calls offering up £40/hour to sit on Zoom in your PJs, so there’s some opportunities to earn some money during your down time.
“It requires no experience at all and you can quickly build up a few hundred quid…
“I do surveys while I’m watching football and it can actually be quite fun and it stacks up.”
Understand your spending triggers
Many of us make impulse purchases now and then – and the Christmas period can often be the most enticing.
That’s why it is so important to understand your own emotions when it comes to shopping, Mr Ellard-King explained.
He told MailOnline: “When it comes to larger purchases, understand your spending triggers.
“People naturally get very excited during the Christmas period, myself included, and I’ll be that guy in the shop who will just splash £100 without even thinking about it and then I’ll be really upset with myself. So understanding your emotions is really, really big.
“Anything above £100, I try to wait 24 hours before making that purchase and 90% of the time I never actually make the purchase, so that’s a really good way of just holding yourself back.
“I mean, we all do it, we go Christmas shopping, we have a couple of mulled wines and barrel into the shop and suddenly we come out with baskets of things we don’t need and it does put an extra strain on things.
“So having a plan when we go in there, actually having a tick-off list and just sticking to the goal….
“Even if you’re not taking 24 hours, go for a walk or have a chat or phone someone up and then go back to it …having that break in the emotional trigger will really help you.”
Robert Johnson is a UK-based business writer specializing in finance and entrepreneurship. With an eye for market trends and a keen interest in the corporate world, he offers readers valuable insights into business developments.
