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Saturday, November 15, 2008, 07:00
Christmas is just round the corner, and for many that is a time to splash out and celebrate.
But, at the same time, the festive season raises an important question: "How on earth am I going to pay for presents and parties this year?"
The credit crunch is hitting hard. The Bank of England's decision to cut interest rates may help, but how soon will that have an impact on consumers?
Unemployment is soaring as the UK enters recession, and South West Wales has not been unaffected.
So is there an easier way to fund your Christmas this year?
Carmarthenshire Learning, the community education service run by Carmarthenshire Council, thinks it has the answer.
The service is running three new courses focusing on turning household clutter into cash, and getting the best price if you are selling your home. The courses — Trash to Treasure, Interior Design on a Budget — and Buying and Selling on eBay, are aimed at helping people supplement their income during the credit crunch and slump in the housing market.
Trash to Treasure helps people recondition or refresh old, useless objects into more useful items, either to keep or to sell. Interior Design on a Budget helps people selling their homes to get the maximum price by making the most of their selling points.
Buying and Selling on eBay courses help people to set up accounts, and show them how to buy items and sell their unwanted items safely.
Education executive board member Ieuan Jones said: "These are difficult times for everyone as the credit crunch really starts to bite.
"Prices are rising across the board, and families are finding it harder and harder to manage.
"These courses aim to help people supplement their incomes through innovative ways or simply by turning household clutter or junk into money to help pay for extras.
"We want to help people in as many ways as we can through this economic slump, and hope the courses prove a useful way to do this."
It is certainly true that one man's trash is another man's treasure, and a quick scan of websites such as eBay or Amazon proves this to be true.
Second-hand — or "new and used" as they are labelled — books and CDs on Amazon are offered at cheaper prices than those that are "new".
For example, the latest Oasis album is listed on the site as costing £8.98, but is also offered second- hand at £5.58, while the latest Gordon Ramsay cookbook — Cooking for Friends — can be picked up for £7.69, which is well below Amazon's price of £12.49.
And, of course, for every buyer, there's a seller making money to spend during the festive season. According to internet auction site eBay, there has never been a better time to avoid the shops and do your Christmas business online.
According to a survey by Frontier Economics in September, eBay.co. uk is on average 25 per cent cheaper than the high street on new, like-for-like items.
And according to the company, the average household is now sitting on £450 worth of unwanted items that could be sold on the site and the proceeds reinvested in Christmas shopping.
"Despite the credit crunch, there's no reason to compromise this Christmas," said Carey Maguire, spokeswoman for eBay in the UK.
"Savvy shopping on eBay.co.uk means you can fill Santa's stocking on a much tighter budget.
"Add in some canny selling, and you can even make Christmas pay for itself."
All purchases are also 100 per cent protected when you pay with Paypal on the site.
There are even cheaper ways to obtain things you need for your home — websites such as Freecycle are full of items people no longer need and are happy to give away for free.
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