A mum with 11 children has shared some of the clever tricks the family use to save money for Christmas.
Joanne O’Rourke, 41, and her husband, Tommy, 42, from London start their money-saving hacks for the festive season in January every year in order to be able to afford presents and food for their growing family.
Joanne, who runs a sweet shop, and Tommy, who works in pest control, always wanted lots of children and over the years have expanded their family to include nine boys and two daughters.
They are, in age order: Mitchell, 21, Lauren, 19, Joe, 17, Riley, 15, Tommy, 14, Ashley-Dean, 12, Freddie, 10, Danny, eight, Naeve, six, Brodie, four, and a one-week-old baby who they have yet to name.
The Money Charity revealed last year that the average UK household was predicted to spend £1,811.70 on Christmas festivities, the equivalent of 80% of the average monthly UK income. But with the O’Rourkes having a significantly larger family than average it isn’t surprising that the couple start prepping financially very early on.
Five of the O’Rourke children pictured at Christmas time. (Joanne O’Rourke/SWNS)
1. Start a Christmas savings account in January
Joanne puts money into a Christmas savings account and aims to save £1,200 a year, so she can spend £100 per child on their main gift. She starts buying their main presents in October so she doesn’t have to do it all last minute and can make savings buying things out of season and in the sale.
“I ask them what they want with that £100,” she explains. “Some want a tracksuit or trainers. Now they are getting older it’s more video games and clothes.”
Joanne says the children can also choose to have their money gifted in an envelope so they can buy something they’d like in the post-Christmas sales.
The children’s stockings at Christmas. (Joanne O’Rourke/SWNS)
As well as the money she saves for the kids main presents Joanne also stashes away some of her earnings throughout the year to buy smaller presents they can open on the day, spending another £100 on each of her children. She spreads out the cost by buying items over the year and has a box in her loft she adds gifts to throughout the year. “I’ll grab stuff I spot throughout the year, such as games, clothes and aftershave,” she adds.
2. Save spare cash for expenses you can plan for
Another saving tip Joanne swears by is keeping a folder with different compartments of things she wants to save for throughout a year. “As soon as December has finished I start saving again,” she explains. “I have a folder with different compartments – so one for uniform, summer, Christmas and birthdays. Once we’ve paid the bills – say I’ve got £50 left I put £10 into each wallet.”
3. Utilise your points
The couple also save up their Nectar card points and Asda points throughout the year, so they can put them towards the Christmas food shop. Their Christmas food shop usually comes to around £250 and they say they are able to save around £60 with loyalty points.
With 11 children, Christmas in the O’Rourke house can be an expensive time. (Joanne O’Rourke/SWNS)
4. Collect spare change in a jar
In order to save some more money towards Christmas the family also keep a jar to collect spare change, one for pennies and one for pound coins, throughout the year and use this to pay for festive food for the big day. “That usually pays for all our meat,” Joanne explains. “Usually it’s about £80. But we haven’t had to cash it in the last couple of years.”
5. Buy long-lasting Christmas food when on offer
Joanne will also snap up Christmas snacks when she sees they are on offer, recently buying all her chocolate boxes in Tesco, for a fraction of their usual price. “It takes the pressure off,” she adds.
On Christmas Eve the family sit down for a Chinese takeaway together, spending roughly around £150, but the couple make sure they start saving for this in November to ensure they have the money set aside.
6. Fill advent calendars with books you already own
With advent calendars another big expense, Joanne manages to save money here by wrapping up old books for her younger children. “It’s nice when you’ve got little ones because they look forward to it,” she says. “You can just wrap up books you already have at home.”
The family use various money saving hacks to put aside the funds for Christmas, including using loyalty points to pay for their festive food. (Joanne O’Rourke/SWNS)
While they do take steps to be able to fund Christmas for their large family, the most important thing for the couple is that they are all together at Christmas. “It’s not about what we spend – it’s about the things we do,” Joanne says. “Every parent has that mum or dad guilt. You can be made to feel you don’t do enough, but everyone tries their hardest. Sometimes we lose ourselves when it comes to money and Christmas.”
The family’s tips for budgeting at Christmas
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Use a Christmas savings account to set aside money – “once you’ve put it in, you can’t touch it”
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Save up your loyalty points with supermarkets.
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Buy small gifts throughout the year when you see things on offer.
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Buy Christmas snacks ahead of time and when they are on at a good price.
The O’Rourkes Christmas budget:
£1,200 on main presents
£1,200 on smaller gifts
£165 on stocking gifts
£250 on Christmas food shop
£150 on Christmas Eve takeaway
Total: £2,965
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