Christmas doesn’t have to break the bank (Picture: PA Real Life)
A mum-of-two who recovered from £40,000 of debt now shares money-saving tips to help people struggling at Christmas.
Now a money-guru on TikTok with 20k followers, she’s been buying her Christmas presents secondhand this year amid the cost-of-living crisis.
Maddy Alexander-Grout, a 39-year-old chief marketing officer for a voucher company, from Southampton, Hampshire, typically spends £250 on Christmas presents, but decided this year she had to cut the cost down.
So far, she has managed to get her gifts for just £30 at charity shops, car boot sales and online.
Her haul includes books, games, scooters and Paw Patrol presents for her two children, Ben, seven, and Harriet, three.
Maddy has even sold her unused Christmas presents from last year on Facebook Marketplace to earn a bit more cash, and is using Nectar points and vouchers to buy her Christmas dinner.
Maddy Alexander-Grout with her husband, James, last Christmas (Picture: PA Real Life)
Maddy is a savvy shopper, going for yellow-sticker items, but the cost-of-living crisis has encouraged her to save that little bit more.
She said: ‘I think the cost-of-living crisis is probably impacting me less than other people just because I’ve been a money-saving person for a very long time.
‘Having said that, there are still things which are massively impacting me. I’m not immune to energy bills, and they have gone up, as well as my childcare. It was about £620 a month, and now it’s £700.’
Maddy has been on the lookout for secondhand Christmas presents since September, going to charity shops twice a week and a car-boot sale twice a month.
One of her best finds, a scooter, cost just £7.
Maddy Alexander-Grout’s son, Ben, on Christmas Day (Picture: PA Real Life)
She said: ‘I also got three books for my husband, for 50p each, and I can wrap all three of those up separately so it looks like I’ve got him a really good present.’
She also is reusing her Christmas decorations of the last eight years to save money.
She said: ‘Christmas doesn’t cost me anything extra for a year really because I budget for it.
Ben Alexander-Grout enjoying his secondhand Christmas presents last year (Picture: PA Real Life)
‘My son has asked me for Pokemon cards, and they’re really easy to get secondhand on eBay. So I’m going to get some of those.
‘My daughter just likes anything Paw Patrol, she would not care if it was in a packet or not.
‘I think Father Christmas who brings their stockings might be getting a few cheap things from the Poundshop but that’s about the only exception, I can’t control what Father Christmas buys obviously.
Maddy Alexander-Grout with the car-boot sale scooters (Picture: PA Real Life)
Maddy Alexander-Grout’s daughter, Harriet, with her secondhand Peppa Pig Christmas presents (Picture: PA Real Life)
Maddy Alexander-Grout with her son, James, last Christmas (Picture: PA Real Life)
‘I don’t think the kids value packaging. In fact, they spent more time whinging about why something won’t open or why it hasn’t got batteries.
‘When you buy secondhand, you can just put batteries in and away you go.
‘Whereas, if you buy new, you have to get scissors, you have to go and cut the packaging open and then it ends up being really messy in the living room. It’s just more waste.’
Maddy is trying to help others save money too, by sharing tips on her TikTok, Mad About Money.
She said: ‘I just wanted there to be somewhere that I could talk about money, because I feel like people don’t talk about money enough.
‘So I talk about money news, comment on news stories and talk about my money-saving tips.
‘I set it up because I actually used to be in £40,000-worth of debt myself, and it took me six years to pay that off.
‘And with the cost-of-living crisis, I just wanted to be able to give something back and help people.’
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‘Christmas doesn’t cost me anything extra for a year really because I budget for it.’Â
