Sleighing the cost of Christmas

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OK, OK! Apologies for the awful pun. It's not even particularly accurate because this little tip is less about saving money at Christmas and more about maximising your opportunities to earn it.

According to the Bank of England, typical household spending rises by £700 in the month of December. That's a healthy chunk of extra money to be spending. There is an alternative to counting the cost of Christmas, and one that could leave your bank account ho-ho-ho-ing with relief.

Renting out an empty driveway with YourParkingSpace could help cover the cost of the festive period, and if you live in the right place it could also be a tidy income all year round. Booking data from YourParkingSpace shows that savvy homeowners in 25 towns and cities across the length and breadth of the country are earning more than £1,000 per year on average by listing their empty driveway on the website. That's enough to cover Christmas and still leave you with an extra £300.

YourParkingSpace is the UK's fastest growing parking operator and the UK's leading on-demand consumer parking marketplace. It processes thousands of in-advance and on-demand parking reservations daily across the UK, generating £48.5million for its clients to-date. Its 85,000 space providers range from individual driveway owners through to household names such as Premier Inn, Tesco, and Morrison's.

And at this time of year, it can be worth getting in on the action. You can rent out your driveway by the hour, day or even month.

Harrison Woods, managing director at YourParkingSpace, explains:

“As revellers flock to town and city centres to enjoy the festivities, renting out an empty driveway or parking space this Christmas presents an opportunity to reign in some big bucks for those who live nearby and have an empty driveway or off-road parking space. With substantial amounts of money to be made across the UK, homeowners with a vacant driveway have extra reason to be merry this Christmas.”

Topping the money-making tree are Londoners, who are making an average of £2,100 per year. Not far behind, the residents of Brighton and Edinburgh are respectively earning £1,944 and £1,896 per year.

You don't need to live in an expensive area to take advantage, though. The league table reveals that empty driveways in towns and cities further down the listing are also making a tidy sum that could help pay for seasonal expenses.

Residents of Wigan are making £648 annually on average, while in the northeast, homeowners in Middlesbrough are making £660 per year on average. Even that's enough to reduce the extra cost of Christmas down to £50, and that's got to be the best present ever.

Just think, you could even put the money you've saved towards a new lease car . Although that could take up valuable space on the driveway!

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