Greater Manchester

Boost your Christmas budget by £1000

The countdown to Christmas may have started earlier than ever this year but its not too late to boost your budget.

With exactly 10 weeks to go from Friday 16 October, we have come up with a guide to help people save up to £1000 by Christmas without the need for any major cut backs.

Simple things like making yourself a coffee instead of grabbing a latte on your way into the office, bringing your own lunch and skipping a few after work drinks can mean slashing weekly spending by as much as £100.

Claire Johnson, our commercial director, said: "With just 10 weeks to go until Christmas its no surprise that people are already thinking about how they are going to enjoy themselves over the festive season.

"And after a depressing year of recession, money is an issue on many peoples minds. Thats why weve created this guide which gives people an easy way of saving some quick cash in time for Christmas.

"Getting the bus instead of driving can alone save people up to £35 a week when you take into consideration the cost of fuel, running a car and parking. We dont expect people to make all these changes but by just changing a few small things its surprising how much you can save.'

We have created an easy seven point guide as well as a cost calculator which enables you to see at a glance which of your daily activities is eating away at your finances.

Your guide to saving for Christmas

•Make your own lunch instead of buying it, saving £17.50.

•Replace your morning take-out latte for a brew in the office, saving £12.50.

•Cut down on after work drinks and share a bottle of wine with friends at home, saving £6.00.

•Watch a DVD at home instead of a weekly trip to the cinema, saving £4.

•Swap takeaways for home cooked meals, saving £12.00.

•Suggest a dinner party with friends instead of going to a restaurant, saving £15.00.

•Use the bus** to get to work instead of driving*, saving £35.68

Potential savings £102.68

*(based on basic 2008 AA figures of 46p per mile: diesel family car " approx value £20,000, 25k miles per year inc; fuel, insurance, tax, labour costs, tyres and depreciation
According to the report by the RAC Foundation, the average distance travelled by UK workers is 8.5 miles a day.

**£1.77 per day with FirstMonth ticket £55.