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A survey by IT consultancy Accenture, suggests two thirds of people are planning to cut back on spending this Christmas.

People are switching to cheaper supermarkets, going out less, and wearing warmer clothes in the house. All of these things are a way of cutting back.

Another way of saving money is by purchasing second-hand technology from Music Magpie and others.

You can buy most tech — smartphones, games consoles & games, tablets, smartwatches, even laptops — for much less than new.

Second-hand from Music Magpie

Sam Vesey, Music Magpie’s chief sustainability officer, suggests buying second-hand to save money. You could also fund this year’s present buying by selling your old tech.

“There are estimates that people have about £600 of unused tech,” says Ms Vesey. “That’s about £16bn sitting in drawers nationwide.”

According to Ms Vesey, buying second-hand no longer holds the stigma it once had.

“We’ve seen an increase in demand for refurbished tech,” she says.

“In the same way that we’ve always been happy to have a second-hand house or a second-hand car, that’s now passing through to our technology. People are quite happy to say ‘mine’s refurbed’.”

The International Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Forum estimates that in 2022, more than 5.3 billion mobile phones alone will be discarded.

The fact that e-waste (anything with a plug or battery) is the fastest-growing domestic waste says a lot about our consumption of technology.

It might be time to rummage through the drawers at home to find some old tech you can sell.

If you are on the lookout for second-hand and refurbished tech, make sure to look on hotukdeals.