# The Cost Of Christmas

An episode of [A Little Bit Richer](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1706157445), 23 Nov 2023, 14 min.

Audio: https://pscrb.fm/rss/p/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/2e9a850c-e6b9-48c2-afec-a8f8010f70f4/61b6e292-1c73-49e1-81ce-b075010b275f/d4de5bce-3731-42cf-b857-b0bd00aa6125/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=aee4b1cb-b4f6-4283-99aa-b075010cd6b0

The Christmas season is coming – and it can be a pretty pricey time of the year. But does it really need to be? Does more money spent equal more fun had? Or can you be fabulously festive and fully frugal too? Kia Commodore’s joined by Megan Micklewright, creator of the financial social media platform ‘The Savvy Spender’, and winner of Online Financial Influencer of the Year 2023. Together, they’ll unwrap some cost-cutting Christmas secrets. They chat about spotting the real bargains (and avoiding the false ones), having open conversations with friends and family about money, and how to give great gifts without breaking the bank. You can play the podcast and find other useful content on Legal & General’s website: https://www.legalandgeneral.com/podcasts/a-little-bit-richer Megan can be found at https://www.instagram.com/thesavvyspenderofficial Kia and her guests share their own personal thoughts and opinions in this podcast. These might be different from Legal & General’s take on things. They give financial guidance for a UK audience that’s relevant at the time of recording. It’s general best practice, not the kind of personalised advice you’d get from a financial adviser. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

## Transcript

[0:01] Kia: Hey, it's Kia and welcome to A Little Bit Richer's very
[0:04] Kia: own Christmas special. I know, I know it's still November
[0:07] Kia: and I'm mentioning the C word, but part of the
[0:10] Kia: secret to a cost- effective Christmas or Hanukkah or just
[0:13] Kia: December in general is starting to plan early. It can
[0:17] Kia: be the most expensive month of the year. So how
[0:19] Kia: do we have a great December while still getting a
[0:21] Kia: little bit richer? With me to unpack it all is
[0:24] Kia: Megan Micklewright. Megan was recently named Financial Influencer of the
[0:28] Kia: Year 2023, and is the founder of The Savvy Spender,
[0:31] Kia: a platform dedicated to financial positivity. Megan, traditionally there's been
[0:38] Kia: a lot of pressure to spend at this time of
[0:40] Kia: the year, but we are starting to see people approach
[0:43] Kia: this differently. How's that?
[0:45] Megan Micklewright: I think a lot of people are approaching it differently,
[0:48] Megan Micklewright: especially with the cost of living now, being more open
[0:52] Megan Micklewright: with their boundaries, setting limits, thinking outside the box, getting
[0:55] Megan Micklewright: creative with presents, making things homemade, doing more Secret Santa.
[1:00] Megan Micklewright: Instead of buying everybody a gift in the family, they're
[1:04] Megan Micklewright: passing it forward to charities instead. I was recently just
[1:08] Megan Micklewright: having, well, say recently, earlier, about an hour ago having
[1:11] Megan Micklewright: a conversation with someone about how my partner's family is
[1:14] Megan Micklewright: so big that they don't end up doing presents because
[1:17] Megan Micklewright: it will cost them an absolute fortune. There's about 30, 40
[1:20] Megan Micklewright: of them and instead they just do a Secret Santa.
[1:24] Megan Micklewright: So instead of one person buying 39 presents, it's one
[1:27] Megan Micklewright: person buying one present and it's just so much easier
[1:30] Megan Micklewright: on the pocket, isn't it, getting creative with the way
[1:33] Megan Micklewright: you're doing presents instead of just that generic buy- in
[1:36] Megan Micklewright: for everybody?
[1:37] Kia: Absolutely. I think, especially with me and my friends, I
[1:41] Kia: think for the past five years we do our own
[1:43] Kia: separate Christmas celebrations, but we also do Secret Santa because
[1:47] Kia: I think when we were younger we used to think, "
[1:48] Kia: Okay, got to buy this person, that person." That list just gets longer and longer.
[1:50] Megan Micklewright: The list goes on.
[1:50] Kia: And the price just keeps increasing. But now we decide, right, we're
[1:55] Kia: going to do the Secret Santa and you get whoever you get
[1:59] Kia: and we have a budget, which is very key because
[2:01] Kia: you never know who's earning what. So we just all
[2:03] Kia: agree a budget and we all stick to that budget and I think it makes things
[2:07] Kia: a lot easier and that way you're almost forced to
[2:10] Kia: think more about the gift that you're giving. Especially we've
[2:13] Kia: done it where it's only £ 10 pounds is the budget.
[2:15] Kia: So now I'm thinking about the person I've got, what
[2:16] Kia: would they love that I can buy for them that is
[2:19] Kia: within budget or I can make? My friend made me
[2:21] Kia: a lovely notebook that I still use to this day.
[2:24] Kia: So I think it really does get you thinking whilst
[2:26] Kia: also not breaking the bank, which is really important. So
[2:30] Kia: I want to ask you then, Megan, do you have
[2:32] Kia: any advice for those who are having a difficult conversations
[2:36] Kia: with friends and family and if those people may have
[2:39] Kia: different approaches to the holiday season?
[2:42] Megan Micklewright: I think that a conversation doesn't have to be difficult unless
[2:44] Megan Micklewright: you make it difficult. If you go in and feel
[2:48] Megan Micklewright: awkward about it, it's automatically going to be awkward. Tell people, "
[2:52] Megan Micklewright: I've only got this much to spend," or, " I don't
[2:54] Megan Micklewright: want to spend a lot this Christmas, I've got other
[2:56] Megan Micklewright: priorities." At the end of the day, nobody can tell
[2:59] Megan Micklewright: you what your priorities should or shouldn't be. So being
[3:02] Megan Micklewright: clear about it, make sure everyone is on the same
[3:05] Megan Micklewright: page and everyone can respect each other's decisions really. I
[3:09] Megan Micklewright: was speaking to somebody the other day about Christmas and
[3:13] Megan Micklewright: just saying that even with family members that are very
[3:15] Megan Micklewright: traditional in setting their ways, this is how we do
[3:19] Megan Micklewright: things, it's good to open their mind up to new
[3:21] Megan Micklewright: ways and it's not about saying this is the way
[3:24] Megan Micklewright: it's done and that's the way we're doing it this
[3:26] Megan Micklewright: year. Have a discussion, what do you want to do?
[3:28] Megan Micklewright: What do I want to do? And come into compromises
[3:31] Megan Micklewright: and that way you're all happy.
[3:33] Kia: I love that. I think this has been a running
[3:35] Kia: theme on the podcast about having conversations. I think that's
[3:39] Kia: the big thing. We don't always talk about money, so
[3:42] Kia: sometimes it can feel as though it's hard to tell people, "
[3:45] Kia: You know what? I haven't got the money this year.
[3:47] Kia: Or actually, can we change what we do this year?"
[3:49] Kia: But I think, like you said, open, honest conversations and
[3:51] Kia: it's not as hard as you think it is. It's just as hard as
[3:54] Kia: you make it.
[3:55] Megan Micklewright: Absolutely.
[3:55] Kia: I love that when you said that.
[3:56] Megan Micklewright: I think with the cost of living as well, the
[3:59] Megan Micklewright: stigma around money conversations is slowly dying because people that
[4:03] Megan Micklewright: never thought they'd be struggling are actually struggling and that's
[4:06] Megan Micklewright: where the stigma's being lost because more and more people
[4:08] Megan Micklewright: are talking about money, which is brilliant really because there
[4:11] Megan Micklewright: should never be a stigma around it.
[4:13] Kia: Exactly. I completely agree with you. Is there a way
[4:16] Kia: to have the best of both worlds? So when I
[4:19] Kia: say that, I mean is there a way to have
[4:20] Kia: a great Christmas while still sticking to your financial goals?
[4:24] Megan Micklewright: 100%, absolutely. You can always have the best of both
[4:28] Megan Micklewright: worlds when it comes to spending money and Christmas. Make
[4:32] Megan Micklewright: sure you've got them budgets in place and stick to
[4:35] Megan Micklewright: them. Talk to yourself, write down in your notes, your
[4:37] Megan Micklewright: notebook, wherever. What's important to you this Christmas? What do
[4:40] Megan Micklewright: you want to tick off? What do you want to
[4:42] Megan Micklewright: do? Do you really need to go out to eat once
[4:45] Megan Micklewright: a week? Make sure that you're doing what you want
[4:47] Megan Micklewright: to do, ticking them off and your money's going to
[4:49] Megan Micklewright: the important places. That way you are having the best
[4:52] Megan Micklewright: of both worlds. And you can also make sure you're
[4:55] Megan Micklewright: saving money when you are doing those things. Make sure
[4:57] Megan Micklewright: you're using cash back. Make sure you're budgeting for them,
[5:00] Megan Micklewright: book in advance, schedule what you're doing so you can
[5:03] Megan Micklewright: get the most for your money.
[5:05] Kia: I love that. And I especially love when you said reviewing how
[5:08] Kia: you're spending. So do you need to go out and
[5:10] Kia: eat every week? Because it's something that my friends and
[5:13] Kia: I have also been fully aware of because I think you
[5:16] Kia: find when you go to meet people, quite often you
[5:18] Kia: meet up with friends and then you're going out and
[5:20] Kia: before you know it you've spent £ 40 on your bill.
[5:23] Kia: Whereas if you're more aware of it because you want
[5:25] Kia: to stick to your financial goals, maybe you say, " You
[5:27] Kia: know what? I want to meet up with you, but
[5:28] Kia: let's go for a coffee or let's go for a
[5:29] Kia: walk instead." And I think that's some of the changes
[5:31] Kia: that a lot of people are making. So it's like
[5:33] Kia: you don't have to compromise. You can still have, like
[5:34] Kia: you said, the good Christmas, but we can also still
[5:37] Kia: 100% stick to our financial goals. You don't have to compromise anything.
[5:40] Megan Micklewright: Definitely. And when you're going out, you don't always have to
[5:44] Megan Micklewright: go to these fancy places. You can go to somewhere
[5:47] Megan Micklewright: that's cheap, that's cheerful, it's good for everybody. And if
[5:50] Megan Micklewright: people are drinking and you're not or they want to
[5:53] Megan Micklewright: have a starter, main, dessert, just open up your separate
[5:57] Megan Micklewright: tab. You don't have to split the bill. And it
[5:59] Megan Micklewright: doesn't have to be an awkward conversation about splitting the
[6:02] Megan Micklewright: bill. Just say, " Look, I'm not drinking today or I'm
[6:05] Megan Micklewright: only having a small starter so I'm going to open
[6:07] Megan Micklewright: up my own tab." It doesn't have to be a
[6:09] Megan Micklewright: big thing at the end of the meal where you're like, "
[6:11] Megan Micklewright: Oh, someone's getting out the calculator." That bit that everybody
[6:16] Megan Micklewright: dreads. Say at the beginning of the meal, " Right, I'm
[6:18] Megan Micklewright: going to open up my own tab because I'm not
[6:20] Megan Micklewright: drinking tonight." It doesn't have to be an awkward conversation.
[6:24] Megan Micklewright: It can be really easy, really simple, and that's the
[6:27] Megan Micklewright: best way to keep it.
[6:28] Kia: Yep. I'm 100% behind you on that because I'm someone
[6:31] Kia: very much so sometimes we go out and I'm happy to
[6:34] Kia: split. Sometimes I'm not hungry and I'll tell my friends
[6:37] Kia: or whoever I'm with, " Guys, I'm just going to pay
[6:39] Kia: for my one thing because I'm only getting one thing."
[6:41] Kia: And I don't feel bad about having that conversation. At least
[6:44] Kia: people know now, okay, that's how we're going to split
[6:45] Kia: the bill. Kia's not a part of that. So whatever
[6:47] Kia: I get now, I split between whoever's agreed upon it and
[6:50] Kia: it makes things easier.
[6:51] Megan Micklewright: I went for a meal once and I don't drink and
[6:54] Megan Micklewright: everybody was ordering cocktails and it was in a really nice
[6:57] Megan Micklewright: restaurant. They were like £ 12 each. And someone ordered lobster,
[7:03] Megan Micklewright: which of course is very expensive. And I was thinking,
[7:07] Megan Micklewright: I'm not drinking. I had a really cheap main. I am not
[7:10] Megan Micklewright: splitting this bill. And I just said, " I'm going to
[7:12] Megan Micklewright: open up my own tab because I've had a really
[7:14] Megan Micklewright: cheap main, I'm not drinking." It was like fine. And
[7:17] Megan Micklewright: I think as long as you keep it simple, don't
[7:19] Megan Micklewright: beat around the bush with it. It's absolutely fine, but
[7:22] Megan Micklewright: it's about the conversations you're having and the people you're around.
[7:24] Megan Micklewright: You don't need to spend loads to have a good time.
[7:27] Kia: Exactly. I love Christmas. It brings the spirit. You get
[7:29] Kia: to be with your loved ones.
[7:30] Megan Micklewright: That's it.
[7:31] Kia: My favorite time of the year. Not lying. I love it.
[7:31] Megan Micklewright: Get out the games, that's what I love.
[7:33] Kia: Yeah. I love the games and the food.
[7:35] Megan Micklewright: And the food.
[7:36] Kia: All of that. I'm getting excited now. See, I'm getting
[7:38] Kia: ahead of myself. Okay, so let's talk about the environment.
[7:41] Kia: What is the environmental impact of all of this? How
[7:44] Kia: does pulling back on consumerism help?
[7:48] Megan Micklewright: It helps in so many different ways. The sustainability aspect
[7:51] Megan Micklewright: of it, the amount of things that end up in
[7:53] Megan Micklewright: landfill, the amount of things that end up just cluttering
[7:57] Megan Micklewright: your own house without talking about the environmental impact. We
[8:01] Megan Micklewright: all end up with so much stuff and we say, "
[8:04] Megan Micklewright: We haven't used that," or, " Why did they buy me
[8:06] Megan Micklewright: that?" I think we've all got a present where we're like, "
[8:08] Megan Micklewright: What am I going to do with this?" And it's being
[8:11] Megan Micklewright: more mindful and thoughtful about the things that you're buying
[8:13] Megan Micklewright: people as well, like you mentioned. If you've got them
[8:16] Megan Micklewright: budgets, thinking about what does that person really want? And
[8:19] Megan Micklewright: if we're more mindful about it, then we end up
[8:22] Megan Micklewright: buying things that are actually going to be used, which
[8:24] Megan Micklewright: has an impact on our wallets, on the environment, on
[8:28] Megan Micklewright: other people's clutter and decluttering. So it has major impacts
[8:33] Megan Micklewright: in so many different areas.
[8:34] Kia: Absolutely. I think one thing that I also do is
[8:39] Kia: I ask people, " What is it that you actually want?" Because
[8:43] Kia: think of how many times, I'm sure you've had it,
[8:45] Kia: I definitely have had it, where you've received the gift
[8:47] Kia: and you're like, " I cannot stand this. What am I
[8:50] Kia: going to do with this?" The person didn't even think about
[8:52] Kia: what this gift is, and now you're probably thinking about
[8:54] Kia: regifting it or you never use it and it does
[8:56] Kia: just kind of clutter up. But I think when you
[8:58] Kia: do have that conversation with someone, I mean it's not
[9:00] Kia: spoiling it. You can get people to write on a list. You
[9:02] Kia: can pick from that list, so it's still got an
[9:04] Kia: air of surprise to it, but then at least you're
[9:06] Kia: buying something that that person's going to use or value. Let's
[9:09] Kia: talk about gifting then. Does expensive always mean better or
[9:15] Kia: are there other approaches that people can take when it
[9:17] Kia: comes to gift giving?
[9:19] Megan Micklewright: Expensive doesn't always mean better. I guess it depends what
[9:22] Megan Micklewright: you're buying, but there's so many alternatives out there now.
[9:27] Megan Micklewright: There's never just one of one product. There's so many
[9:29] Megan Micklewright: different jewelry brands, phone brands, that sort of thing. And
[9:33] Megan Micklewright: there's dupes as well out there now. You can always
[9:35] Megan Micklewright: get a cheaper alternative. So expensive doesn't always mean better.
[9:40] Megan Micklewright: It's different if someone's asked for a specific brand or
[9:42] Megan Micklewright: something like that. But always make sure you're shopping around,
[9:46] Megan Micklewright: never just take the first price you see because nine
[9:49] Megan Micklewright: times out of 10 it's not the best. And making
[9:51] Megan Micklewright: sure you're looking for discount codes and that sort of
[9:54] Megan Micklewright: stuff, using cashback where possible because if you are making
[9:59] Megan Micklewright: an expensive purchase, you can still get some money back
[10:02] Megan Micklewright: that way.
[10:02] Kia: I love that. Cashback, discount codes, all of those things.
[10:06] Kia: So, Megan, it's Black Friday this week and that's a
[10:09] Kia: time where some people may be thinking, " I'm going to
[10:12] Kia: get all of my Christmas presents on that day because
[10:16] Kia: so many deals coming out." So I want to ask
[10:18] Kia: you, is it actually a good deal? Should people spend
[10:21] Kia: their money and use Black Friday as an opportunity or
[10:24] Kia: should people maybe hold back a bit?
[10:26] Megan Micklewright: I don't think you should hold back, but I also
[10:28] Megan Micklewright: don't think you should rely on it. You've got to
[10:31] Megan Micklewright: remember that these days are put out there for people
[10:34] Megan Micklewright: to spend. They're not there for people to save. They're
[10:36] Megan Micklewright: there for people to spend and it is a good
[10:39] Megan Micklewright: day to check deals, but purely to check deals and
[10:43] Megan Micklewright: make sure you actually are getting a good deal because
[10:46] Megan Micklewright: sometimes the prices are hiked up in the weeks upcoming
[10:50] Megan Micklewright: so they can be pulled down on that day and
[10:54] Megan Micklewright: actually everyone thinks they're getting a good deal, but it's
[10:57] Megan Micklewright: not a good deal. So make sure you are shopping
[10:59] Megan Micklewright: around, look and see if you are actually getting a
[11:02] Megan Micklewright: good deal. And also remember it's not a saving if
[11:06] Megan Micklewright: you didn't need it anyway. You're actually just spending. So
[11:09] Megan Micklewright: make sure you stick to your list. Don't just get
[11:12] Megan Micklewright: pulled in to all of these good deals and offers
[11:15] Megan Micklewright: that you're seeing. Get rid of the triggers if you
[11:17] Megan Micklewright: need to, unsubscribe from them emails, unfollow people on Instagram if you need
[11:22] Megan Micklewright: to. If you're struggling for money especially and you know
[11:25] Megan Micklewright: that you're going to be triggered by Black Friday, get
[11:27] Megan Micklewright: rid of any triggers. You don't need to spend if
[11:30] Megan Micklewright: there's something that you don't need.
[11:31] Kia: I absolutely agree with you. When it comes to Black
[11:33] Kia: Friday, I mean, I very rarely shop on those days
[11:36] Kia: anyway. Cyber Monday, those kind of days. But when it
[11:39] Kia: comes to Black Friday or the lead- up to it,
[11:42] Kia: I use price trackers. So certain websites will have a
[11:45] Kia: tracker, the big websites, and you can actually say, right,
[11:48] Kia: I'm looking at this product and it will track the
[11:50] Kia: price of it. And you can also look at historical
[11:52] Kia: prices so you can see was it hiked up like
[11:54] Kia: you said the week before and now it's just come
[11:55] Kia: back to the original price or is there actually a
[11:58] Kia: saving if I wanted to buy it? If you get
[12:00] Kia: into that habit, you can definitely make sure you're getting
[12:02] Kia: the best price for anything you're buying, 100%. Finally, Megan,
[12:07] Kia: what three tips do you have for our listeners as
[12:10] Kia: they look ahead to Christmas to help them get a
[12:12] Kia: little bit richer.
[12:13] Megan Micklewright: I've mentioned it so many times, but the first one
[12:16] Megan Micklewright: is definitely being open and honest. Having them conversations with
[12:19] Megan Micklewright: people around you. Nobody's going to know unless you tell
[12:22] Megan Micklewright: them. You've got to be open and honest. The second
[12:24] Megan Micklewright: one will be never take that first price you see,
[12:27] Megan Micklewright: shop around, make it a habit. Get into the habit
[12:31] Megan Micklewright: of looking for cashback, looking for discount codes, having a
[12:35] Megan Micklewright: look on even Facebook groups and things like that. And
[12:37] Megan Micklewright: the third one is get a little bit creative. Mine
[12:40] Megan Micklewright: Nan, for example, she's got everything that she needs, absolutely
[12:44] Megan Micklewright: everything that she needs. And I know that whatever I
[12:47] Megan Micklewright: buy her, she's not going to use. So I get creative.
[12:50] Megan Micklewright: I make her hampers. I buy her experiences instead. And
[12:53] Megan Micklewright: that can be a lot more thoughtful for the person
[12:56] Megan Micklewright: that you're buying for, but also be a bit easier
[12:58] Megan Micklewright: on your pocket as well.
[12:59] Kia: I love that. That is so thoughtful. Yeah, it makes you really
[13:02] Kia: think about what the person would value. Megan, thank you
[13:05] Kia: so much. This has been a great episode and really
[13:07] Kia: gotten us into the Christmas spirit.
[13:09] Megan Micklewright: I'm feeling Christmassy.
[13:10] Kia: I'm feeling Christmassy. I'm ready. I'm ready for Christmas.
[13:12] Megan Micklewright: I'm ready to go Christmas shopping now.
[13:15] Kia: I'm ready for everything. I'm ready to look at the
[13:16] Kia: food, everything.
[13:17] Megan Micklewright: I'm ready for the food.
[13:18] Kia: We're getting too excited. We're getting too excited.
[13:20] Megan Micklewright: Let's not buy presents and let's just buy food.
[13:21] Kia: Buy food. I'm with you on that, honestly. Thank you
[13:24] Kia: so much.
[13:25] Megan Micklewright: Thank you.
[13:25] Kia: This has been a great episode. Next week I'm returning to a
[13:29] Kia: topic we looked at earlier in the series, house buying.
[13:33] Kia: I want to focus specifically on the cost of buying
[13:35] Kia: your first home and how to save. And don't worry,
[13:38] Kia: the words avocado on toast are officially banned. I promise.
[13:42] Kia: But while you wait, you know the drill, hit follow
[13:44] Kia: and leave a review. Happy Christmas.

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