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Redundancy has stalked millions since the Covid-19 pandemic began battering the global economy a year ago, while countless other professionals have been left coping with income squeezes.
Some have found fresh opportunities or changed roles, but many more continue to experience sudden job loss as the fallout of the pandemic is felt across numerous sectors.
When Melody Beale’s job running corporate events in Dubai ended “with immediate effect” last year, it was her first experience of being made redundant. Melody Beale lost her job running corporate events in Dubai last year. She used the jolt of unemployment to conceptualise and launch a food business. Photo: Chris Whiteoak / The National
Individuals, families and couples are considering compromising on gifts, such as only giving presents to immediate family, reducing their gift budgets or even abandoning gifting altogether to put cash towards a staycation.
We asked the administrators of some of the nation’s most popular Facebook savings and advice sharing communities for their festive spending manifestos and tips.
Debbie Steedman, 55, co-founder of Shop Well For
Less
The British mother-of-one lives in Al Barsha, Dubai, and curates thousands of posts highlighting deals and savings from a community of 27,000 members.
How do you keep down the cost of Christmas
?
Her key advice is to begin buying early.