A SAVVY mum has saved over £300 by buying second-hand gifts this Christmas.
Jamie-Lee Birch challenged herself to having Christmas on a budget this year as costs continue to rise.
Jamie’s family Austin, Harper and Kit
Jamie challenged herself to Christmas on a budget this year
Jamie has managed to save hundreds of pounds by buying second-hand gifts this year
One of the key ways she’s managed to save is by buying the majority of her kids’ and husband’s presents from places like Facebook Marketplace, charity shops and Vinted.
The gifts she got for her children would usually cost £346 and she only spent £100.
For her husband, Austin, 36, Jamie would have spent £115 in total if she had bought all his presents from a shop.
Instead she spent just £56 by buying the several of his gifts from second-hand shops and online retailers.
That means that just on her family’s presents alone she has saved £304 this year.
The 31-year-old told HOAR: “We’ve always been quite mindful anyway but this year we knew it was going to be tougher.
“I said that this year I wanted to make sure we didn’t put anything on credit cards or anything.
“It means that we’ve been a lot more mindful about the gifts we get for people.”
Jamie, from Gloucestershire, has been sharing her mission to have a cheaper Christmas with her 44K followers on her TikTok ‘jamie_rose88’.
Since the end of November she has been regularly posting videos showing her bargain finds and telling others how they can do it too.
Jamie said one of the biggest savings she’s made buying pre-loved gifts is on toys for her kids, Harper, 6, and Kit, 2.
She saved £65 on an Olli Ella Holdie Barn which usually costs £80 and instead Jamie spent just £15 on Facebook Marketplace.
Other bargains she has found is a children’s book that sells for £7.99 but she bought for 20p in a charity shop.
Jamie also bought a car garage toy for her son which sells for £39.99 usually, she got it for £5.
For her husband, she reckons she’s saved £59 on his gifts.
Among these are Adidas sliders that usually cost £20 – but were bought for £8 second-hand on Vinted.
As well as an electric toothbrush that usually costs £47, but she bought for £25 in the Amazon Black Friday sale.
Jamie is part of a pretty big family and buys around 40 presents every year for family and friends.
This year she estimates she would have spent around £1,160 on gifts alone but through her budgeting tricks she spent just £408.
For their extended family and friends Jamie reckons around 30% of the gifts she bought are second-hand.
We buy second-hand whenever we can
She said: “Sometimes I have bought the full priced item because I can’t find it on sale or pre-loved.
“I do think it’s actually more important to get someone something they actually want rather than wasting your money on something that might end up in the charity shop anyway.”
For more grown-up presents, Jamie has found some special buys on the re-selling app Vinted.
She bagged herself a £80 laptop case the other day for just £10.
Although she does say to make sure to bear in mind delivery costs and other fees.
Jamie said she will “100%” be doing Christmas on a Budget again next year.
She said: “We think we’re setting good standards for our kids as well.
“We don’t know what the economy will be like when they’re adults or have children or what their career paths will be.
“We don’t want to set a massive expectation that Christmas is all about gifts, and for them to feel like that’s what they have to do too.
“Hopefully we’re setting the tone that Christmas magic comes from all the things around Christmas, not just what’s under the tree.”
Jamie’s top tips for second-hand buying at Christmas
To prepare for this year’s savvy Christmas, Jamie started shopping early in the summer.
This meant that she was able to bag herself some absolute steals in the Amazon Prime Day Sale, as well as take advantage of stock changes as the seasons changed.
She says that keeping a list is key if you’re starting early because you don’t want to forget what you’ve bought so far.
Jamie also said that by kicking off your festive spending early, it means that you can spread the costs.
It also allows you to browse more which means you’ll find some even better bargains.
She also recommends keeping an eye out in charity shops and on Facebook Marketplace for people selling their unwanted gifts in January.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected]
