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Festive Season debt; A debt hangover in January will sour your memories of the festive season faster than anything else. Making a holiday shopping plan that won’t blow up your credit cards is ideal right now, with Christmas just a few weeks away.
It’s easy to get caught up in the summertime fever as the holiday season draws near. All the excitement can really put a strain on our wallets. After all, you do deserve to pamper yourself this holiday season, especially if you’ve worked hard all year and want to relax before starting the grind again.
December can be a difficult month financially, whether it’s spending money on long days spent drinking and dining outside or spoiling loved ones with gifts and feasts. After the holidays are done, what happens?
Starting the New Year relaxed and renewed is always preferable to worrying about the debt you have racked up. Some costs, like taking out a loan to pay for a child’s college tuition, buying a car, or making some important home improvements, can be beneficial, but having an excessive amount of debt can limit your options.
Check out some festive financial health tips below:
1- Budget early
If you map out a detailed expense list and projected budget for a few months ahead, you can help yourself resist all of the little holiday temptations. If you flesh out your December budget allocations as early as possible, This can help you in sticking to your Christmas spending plan. Project all of your January and even February spending needs as well. If you don’t make plans for the coming year, expenses like increasing medical insurance rates or school fees may surprise you. Make a list of things you need and people you need to buy for. Call the hosts and find out who will be coming to the family meal if you’re uncertain, or go look at last year’s photos. You can avoid buying extras just in case you forgot someone by knowing who to buy for.
2- Keep careful track of day-to-day spending
Tracking your spending honestly and methodically is one of the best money-saving pieces of advice, and it is applicable all year round. There are some fantastic apps that can help with this. What use is meticulously arranging your monthly expenditure if you don’t check to see if you’re staying on budget?
3- Don’t feel the need to impress. Festive Season debt is not uncommon!
One of the biggest obstacles to staying within your budget throughout December is the expense of holding seasonal gatherings. When these celebrations have a competitive edge, the need to have a bigger and better party, friends and relatives might cause additional tension. Why not make this year’s holiday meals and decorate a bring-and-share affair? This contributes to fostering the holiday spirit as well. Avoid overspending on entertainment if you have kids at home this season; instead, discover cheap activities to keep them occupied.
4- Ignore ‘buy now and pay later’ offers.
Avoid the urge to go buy now, pay later bargains that could overextend your future finances. Whether you’re shopping for Christmas presents, stocking up for New Year’s celebrations, or taking that well-deserved vacation. Buying only what you can afford to spend is one of the best Christmas buying tips. In the end, how much money you spend in December can significantly affect how well off you are financially in January. These pointers ought to enable you to begin the new year with stronger financial standing. Don’t let January turn into Janu-worry.
5- Use only one line of credit for your festive purchases.
Choose the credit card with the lowest interest rate if you have more than one, and leave the others at home. Additionally, look at the statement cutoff date to see when you must begin paying payments. Using just one card makes it simpler to keep track of your spending.
When you go gift shopping make sure to cross people off your list once you’ve bought for them to stop yourself from making more purchases.
6- Go gift shopping by yourself
It’s hard to stick to your shopping list if you have friends or family members enthusiastically pointing out deals and treats along the way. Going it alone helps you stay focused on your main goal, which is to purchase gifts that you won’t have to pay for in 2026.
However, there is at least one disadvantage to shopping alone. Usually, it’s not as fun. Christmas should be enjoyed, not suffered through. If you stress out over every cent you charge to your credit card, it’s difficult to get into the holiday spirit.
7- Handmade gift idea
Examine your shopping list and evaluate whether you truly need to purchase for everyone on it.
For individuals who would prefer your time, company, or assistance over a product from a store, you still have time to create some personalized gift certificates. Consider babysitting for new parents, providing household assistance to an elderly aunt or uncle, or taking a grandmother out for a drive before having dinner at your house.
In addition to being cost-effective, homemade presents are also given from the heart, which can really make someone smile.
8- Shop when it’s quiet
Skip the ques by choosing off-peak hours to do your shopping.
Try to get your gift shopping done before the school holidays so that going to the stores during the day will save you some time and prevent you from making impulse purchases. Take a bottle of water with you and eat before you leave. Saving even a small amount will help you stay within your budget.
9- Choose quality over quantity
When buying for children, consider their interests and what they will probably play with as soon as they finish opening their presents. Despite it being simple to assume that kids would enjoy a ton of toys, they often only play with one or two, which quickly become favourites.
Avoid them thinking about how much or how little they have by purchasing something they can use or play with right now because they will be too busy having fun with what they already have to think about what they didn’t get.
10- Budget friendly gift ideas
Instead of exchanging expensive gifts with your spouse, purchase a game that the whole family can play – a DVD for family movie night, and some goodies that you can serve to visitors and family members. You both probably don’t need anything, so in January, give yourselves the gift of less debt. Use this year to establish some new traditions and emphasise having fun while spending time with loved ones. Another strategy to save money and create new traditions is to buy Christmas gifts that the entire family will love. It’s all too easy to get caught up in the chaos and forget that Christmas and the holidays are for creating memories, not accruing mountains of debt.