Don’t wake up with a money hangover in January!
It can be a stressful time of year; making sure you have presents for everyone, hosting Christmas events, attending Christmas events and if you have children, buying gifts for teachers/carers, gifts for your children and outings to make Christmas time special.
How can you achieve (read survive) all of this without a massive financial hangover come January??
If you already missed that pre-planning stage of putting some money aside in a jar, envelope or bank account for this time of year. Then you need to stop now and put together a December budget.
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- Who do you need to buy for?
- What food/ Christmas things do you need to buy?
- What events that cost money do you need to attend?
- What activities would you like to do over Christmas and New Years?
How much do each of these things cost? How much do you have left to spend this month, after every day items are taken care of?
The trick is to only spend what you can afford this month, don’t rely on your credit card, it will set you back.
- Gifts – buy what you can afford, make gifts, give photos. Stay within your means, can you do a Kris Kringle instead of buying for lots of people.
- Food – make what you can, shop at markets or cheaper grocery stores (I’m a big Aldi fan, just don’t get caught up in all the special buys!)
- Events – do you really need to attend and if you do, can you drive? Save on alcohol and transport costs. Or pick just one event that you really want to attend and stick within your budget for that event.
- Activities – there are heaps of money traps for kids at Christmas, Santa photos, Carols by Candlelight. Try other things; Looking at houses decorated with Christmas lights is free, local council carols are also generally free and you can take your own picnic dinner. Take a look on Instagram for plenty of fun Christmas activities to do with kids; make Christmas decorations or maybe they can even help make gifts.
So if you haven’t planned ahead this Christmas it will be time to cut back a bit, only spend what you can afford, spend time with people you love and you will enjoy it all the more.
The financial hangover just isn’t worth the stress!
Stay tuned in January for: Planning the perfect Festive Season! ~ A guide to planning and saving ahead to help you have the Festive Season of your dreams.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and your loved ones, stay safe and enjoy this special time xo
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