Every Christmas it’s always the same. You drop those not-so-subtle hints about what you really want only to get what you don’t want. Now you are stuck with an ice cream maker instead of that laptop. Fun.  And being the chiconomistas that you are, you are thankful for the thought but are also thinking about the money that’s been wasted. While we can’t help you avoid passé Christmas presents or unreasonable return policies, we can help you swap unwanted gifts for something you really want. And no one has to know.

Swapz.co.uk is a fantastic place to swap items online, anything from DVDs to consumer electronics. All you have to do is sign up (it’s free!), make sure you don’t open that unwanted Christmas gift (its value will be higher if it’s new), post of picture of it in the Swapz page and then ask what you want to swap it for. Or you could check the Wantedz items to see if someone wants your gift.

Make sure to read the articles in the Help page for rules and guidelines to ensure a swift and safe swap. If you don’t get any good swap offers, you could do a point swapz, where you swap that item with a user that has points. Then you can swap those points for something you really want.

So if you’re looking to be even more money-savvy this year, especially with the VAT rise, go to your attic to find other unwanted gifts from Christmas past that you could swap for points or for a present from you to you.

By Christina Caicedo