Dad reveals how he's having a FREE Christmas

2022-12-14

Dad reveals how he’s having a FREE Christmas thanks to a turkey he bought LAST year and vouchers he collected by doing market research

Al Baker, 48, from Aldershot, Hampshire, is funding Christmas for ‘free’ this year
He has managed to save £1K using various cost-cutting methods to fund Xmas
Including a yellow sticker turkey for just £8 which he bought last year in M&S
He also saved extra money from doing side hustles like market research

A dad has revealed how he is funding Christmas for ‘free’ this year – including a Turkey bought on Christmas Eve 2021.

Al Baker, 48, from Aldershot, Hampshire, has managed to save £1,000 using various cost-cutting methods in order to fund the festivities for his family this year.

The dad-of-two has been particularly thrifty, buying a yellow sticker turkey for £8 from M&S down from £60 on Christmas Eve last year to tuck into this December, and saved money from doing side hustles like market research, which paid him in vouchers.

Al Baker, 48, from Aldershot, Hampshire, has revealed how he is funding Christmas for ‘free’ this year – including a Turkey bought on Christmas Eve 2021 (pictured with his children Heather and George)

The dad-of-two has been particularly thrifty, buying a yellow sticker turkey for £8 from M&S down from £60 on Christmas Eve last year to tuck into this December

Al, who is dad to daughter Heather, 20, and son George, five, has now managed to save for Christmas Day without having to budget – with £1,000 in the pot to spend on gifts and food.

He also sold items on eBay and Facebook Marketplace to fund the holidays, as well as using receipt scanning apps for cash back.

Christmas Day costs are totally taken care of for the thrifty dad, thanks to his forward thinking.

Al, who shares money saving tips on his blog The Penny Pincher, said: ‘It’s a great feeling.’

Yellow stickered items such as pizzas, veg, bread, fruit and even tea cakes all snapped up as a bargain

Al saved money from doing side hustles like market research, which paid him in vouchers to spend on food

He also sold items on eBay and Facebook Marketplace to fund the holidays, as well as using receipt scanning apps for cash back

Al’s son five-year-old George was excited to meet Father Christmas last year and he got plenty of toys

‘There’s a lot less stress knowing I don’t have to find extra money when times are tough and so I can sleep easier without worrying if we can afford to have a proper Christmas.

‘Dinner is pretty much-taken care of as I’ve been freezing bits and bobs as I go throughout the last few months, so I’ve got everything already done – it just needs defrosting and heating up.

‘Market research has made me a fair few quid this year which has helped – I mainly got vouchers for those, and that’s all saved for Christmas and paid for most of the items I’ve bought.

‘I did market research recently [which was] one hour for £80 – which is great as that’s £80 towards Christmas extras, and all done in my lunch hour.

Al manages to get plenty of yellow sticker meat items from the supermarkets and he freezes them to keep them fresh

Al was also able to pick up a bag of potato’s for a bargain price and two small crates of oranges

He snapped up raspberries for 50p which were down from £2.99 and he got a bag of onions for 49p

Al son George is ‘very much into the spirit of Christmas’ and is apparently already asking questions about Santa

Al’s daughter Heather, 20, and son George, five, beam for the camera on Christmas morning last year in matching pyjamas

‘My turkey is yellow sticker that I got from M&S last Christmas Eve for £8, which should have been more like £60, so we’ll have that this year. It’s been sitting in the freezer all year!

‘All in all, I’ve saved a little over £1,000 which is in theory for Christmas – but I’m a penny pincher, so I’m trying not to spend it all and we can appreciate what’s left next year.

‘My son is five and very much into the spirit of Christmas and so it would be a shame to have to be super frugal and not let him enjoy the extra bits and bobs the spare money can help with.

‘The magic of Christmas may not be the same next year, as Santa questions are already being asked!’