Woman's clever Smarties hack can help you save £166 for next Christmas

01 January 2024 , 15:50

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You can save all the £2 coins you collect over the year in a Smarties tube (Image: Facebook/Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK)

Christmas 2023 is only just over, but that doesn't mean it's not worth thinking ahead towards the next one - and this handy trick can help.

With Christmas over, your wallet might be feeling especially empty - having spent it on copious amounts of food and presents. Or you might just be feeling stressed about the upcoming rise to energy prices, after Ofgem's price cap rose today, on January 1, 2024.

Whatever you're feeling about your current financial situation, it's a good idea to start saving money - as Christmas 2024 is inevitable. There are many ways you can save money, but one person has saved a particularly fun method that could help you save £166.

When the tube is full, you'll have saved £166 - which is handy for Christmas (Facebook/Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK)

Posting on the Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK group, a woman showed off one of the large Smarties tubes that are popular around Christmas and revealed the diameter of the tube perfectly fits a £2 coin. One tube fits a total of 83 coins inside, meaning that if you put all your £2 coins in the tube throughout the year, you'll have £166 once it's full – hopefully in time for next Christmas.

Alongside two pictures of the tube in action, she wrote back in 2022: "You may all know about this, but I thought I’d share after I saw the envelope trick. If you have any of these tubes at home, basically you can just save £2 coins in them over the year and when it’s full you'll have £166 towards Christmas."

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The Smarties hack was also shared on TikTok, where commenters were keen to try the idea – especially if it meant they had to munch on the chocolates inside the tube first. One person said: "So we need to spend our money on Smarties first? Sounds like a plan to me."

While another added: "That's a good idea." The woman's helpful post comes as she was inspired to share it after seeing the popular "envelope challenge", which has been helping some people save up to £5,000 a year.

The challenge requires people to buy 100 envelopes and number them from 1 to 100, before shuffling them up so the numbers aren't in order. Then, you simply pick out two envelopes at random each week, and put the amount listed on the front into the envelope and seal it away until the end of the year.

After the hack was shared on TikTok, many people loved the idea – but others pointed out it wouldn’t always be possible for some people, especially if you pick out two large numbers in one week.

Someone said: "£5,000 a year means you're saving £400 per month. Not many people can do that. This 'trick' is only for people who can afford that."

Ariane Sohrabi-Shiraz