Tameside Radio's Breakfast presenter talks about the change in our spending habits in the lead-up to the festive period.

I've never been a fan of Black Friday. Since the early days of its arrival in the UK heralded dust ups over flatscreen TVs, I've found the whole thing rather tacky. It's the retail equivalent of gaudy lights at the end of a seaside pier. Being cajoled to buy stuff you'd never usually purchase in the first place feels especially wrong when we're in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis.

I know that it's exceptionally challenging for retailers right now, with a combination of Covid, Brexit and inflation creating the perfect storm of obstacles, but it feels worth saying that an item is not a bargain if you weren't planning to buy it before the Black Friday discount. Rather than saving 50%, you've actually wasted 100% of the price.

Similarly, there is a lot of pressure on our pockets at Christmas. I have always loved giving gifts to family and friends. It gives you a warm, fuzzy feeling. Moneysaving Expert guru Martin Lewis made me think on his ITV1 Money Show earlier this week, when he suggested thinking twice before buying gifts this year.

If something will bring someone joy, this is clearly a lovely thing. However, if it will send you further into debt, is it really worth lavishing all those around you with stuff they probably don't need? We were all robbed of time with loved ones during the pandemic, and I still treasure time spent with my mum and dad, and close friends. I vowed during the first lockdown never to take get-togethers for granted again, and I've stuck to that pledge so far.

Instead of a present mountain, Martin Lewis advises that you could arrange a secret Santa scheme with your friends, make a donation to charity, or just agree that you won't buy gifts this year. The world will keep turning, and your friends might well breathe a sigh of relief. Talking about money is really difficult, especially when you're in debt. I know, as I've been there in the past. It was one of the hardest things I've ever had to face up to. It's a bit like getting into a lobster trap. Far easier to get into than escape from.

On his podcast, Lewis said: "This isn't about presents for your spouse or for the kids under the tree, this is about the growing list of teachers and friends and extended family we buy for. We all put pressure on ourselves to buy, buy when sometimes people don't want or need it." He added that many gifts will end up in landfill and that "there might be a selfishness in you celebrating the gift of giving".

This is the year to go cold turkey. With everything from fuel to milk soaring in price, and wages failing to match by a long chalk, who wants the added pressure of huge sacks full of Christmas gifts to buy? If you can't afford it, don't do it. It sounds so simple, but I reckon a lot of your close friends will thank you if you are the one to have that conversation.

Traditionally, spending habits change in these crucial weeks leading up to Christmas. Households spend around £740 more in December, which is 29% more than in a typical month. But an Ipsos survey for the Evening Standard found 37 per cent of adults are "very likely" to spend less money this festive season than they usually would, with 20 per cent stating they are "fairly likely" to do so.

I wonder if a few lavish work dos might become drinks and a pub meal. Perhaps not a bad thing, if only to avoid the sight of your colleagues doing the Macarena after too many ill-advised Jagerbombs at the bar post-turkey. I don't know about you, but I really hate wasting any food, so perhaps we'll buy a bit more carefully, especially given the soaring prices at supermarkets and independent local shops due to food price inflation.

Above all, I'm not telling anyone what to do. I just think it's great that Martin Lewis has started a conversation around the taboo subject of buying wasteful gifts. It's a chat worth having. Even Santa is checking prices more carefully this year, as the cost of fuel for the sleigh is predicted to rise again in January after a temporary fall this December.

Oh, and if you'd like to tell us which Christmas songs to play on Tameside Radio this December, please e-mail me! It's alex.cann@questmedianetwork.co.uk

You can listen to Alex every weekday from 7am to 11am and on the 'Super Scoreboard' show on Saturdays from 3pm to 7pm, on Tameside Radio 103.6FM. 

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