HANDS up if you're easily influenced by persuasive adverts or marketing campaigns?

Well, with Christmas fast approaching, there will soon be temptations everywhere you turn.

But with the cost-of-living crisis causing prices to skyrocket, it's likely this festive season is going to expensive – so it's important to spend your money on items that’ll give you real value.

Speaking exclusively to Fabulous Digital, money-saving guru Liz Edwards, who is Editor-in-Chief at personal finance comparison site, finder.com, reveals the four things she'll be avoiding to save cashthis Christmas…

Vouchers as gifts

Let's face it, many of us have got an 'experience day' voucher gathering dust in a drawer that we've completely forgotten about.

"Chances are, your expensive voucher has expired, or you’ll have to use it on a Tuesday in March, or maybe you could use it on a Saturday, but that’ll be £20 extra," says Liz.

"Last year, the Gift Card & Voucher Association celebrated record growth in 'leisure' vouchers during the six months to Christmas.

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"Over at the complaints website Resolver, they witnessed a record number of complaints – nearly 13,500 – about gift vouchers from shops and 'experiences' websites in 2020-21. This was 53% up on the previous year."

But while giving an experience rather than an unwanted knick-knack makes sense, Liz warns there are a few things to consider.

"Many vouchers come with restrictions, exclusions and an 'all dates subject to availability' warning that leaves you wondering if the voucher companies don’t really want you to use them," she points out.

"Instead, maybe cut out the middleman, ask your loved one what experience they want, and book it direct."

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Shop-bought Christmas crackers

Christmas wouldn't be the same without having a cracker to pull before tucking into your festive feast.

But depending on where you shop, they can come with quite a hefty price tag.

"I wouldn’t do without crackers, but they’re expensive to buy (a pack of 6 luxury crackers from Asda is £8) and the plastic contents go straight in the bin after Christmas lunch," explains Liz.

"How many shoe horns do you need?"

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Instead, the money-saving whizz advises encouraging kids to get creative and make their own.

"Kids getting bored on the second day of the holidays can make crackers using toilet rolls, crepe or tissue paper (multi-pack of colours is £1 at The Works) and old bits of ribbon," she says.

"You can get paper hats and cracker snaps from eBay – £3 for 6 of both.

"And you can put chocolates or sweets inside – items that guests might actually want.

"All of that is around half the price of buying crackers at the supermarket."

Pricey gifts for teachers

Liz comments: "There’s terrible pressure on parents to spend more each year on teachers’ gifts.

"The internet is littered with stories of teachers, schools and even a council asking parents not to buy them, especially when they can’t really afford it."

She goes on to note how last year, a £1 bar of chocolate wrapped in a child’s drawing was a hit with parents on Facebook as a cheaper way to thank teachers.

"A survey of 5,000 teachers by the Teacher Tapp app found overall that they’d rather get a homemade card than wine or chocolate (though the primary teachers preferred wine to a hand-drawn card – maybe they’d seen enough of those in December!)," Liz continues.

"An alternative is a group gift like a store voucher, with parents contributing what they can afford, and the teacher allowed to choose what they want."

Extended warranties

Treating the family to a new TV to watch The King’s Speech (King Charles, Colin Firth or both)?

Maybe the washing machine’s finally given up and you’re hoping to get a Black Friday bargain?

"If you’re buying electricals, you’ll no doubt be offered some type of extra cover," warns Liz.

"But extended warranties are expensive (3 years for a £400 washing machine at Currys is £160).

"And they’re usually for 3 or 5 years – your new TV or washing machine is unlikely to break down in that time and, if it does, several studies suggest you’re better off paying to fix it."

The money-saving guru suggests that instead of buying the warranty, you can put the money into a separate account of your own, to 'self insure.'

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"It’s a similar story with gadget insurance for mobile phones," she explains. "And you might find your home insurance already covers your phone so it’s worth checking that, too.

"If you’re buying an item over £100, it’s a good idea to put it on your credit card, because that gives you extra rights.

"Under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, the card provider is just as liable as the shop that sold the item if something goes wrong with it."

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