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The Cost Of Christmas · A Little Bit Richer

• 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.