How to budget during the holiday season…

The holiday and festive season is fast approaching, which for many can be a difficult time financially. With many family gatherings, buying gifts, planning meals, and joining in on holiday traditions, expenses can quickly add up.

Financia have some small tips that might help with your finances in the lead up to the festive season.

Firstly, it is good to get an understanding of what you actually spend your money on over this period. Sit down, make a list, and go over all your expenses. Even the smaller ones like purchasing a bottle of wine that you might take to a gathering… it all adds up. We sat down as a team to get an understanding of what most people spend their money on, and the below 5 items came up the most:

1. Gifts
2. Decorations
3. Travel
4. Food
5. Drinks

Let’s break this down:

It’s only November, but it is a good idea to start tracking your spending early to ensure you have funds available and ready for this period.

Tracking:

Pick a tracking method that works for you, this may be a spreadsheet, an app on your phone or even a notebook. Categeorise your expenses. If you have left over funds each week after all your expenses and miscellaneous items have been withdrawn from your account, this could be funds that you put towards the above 5 categories for the holiday season.

Budget:

Set yourself a budget. How much are you going to spend on gifts, food, drink, travel, and decorations without overextending yourself. Make a note of this somewhere, whether it’s in your spreadsheet or on a shopping list and make sure you stick to it. When purchasing gifts, we recommend looking online first to see if you can find something that fits within your budget.

Protect your Credit Rating:

Be sure not to get caught out during this period by accidently missing a financial obligation. This can negatively affect your credit rating and potentially cause issues for future financial and life requirements which require a clean credit history.

Bills:

Did you know that you can request an extension on things such as Council Rates and Water Rates. This may be worth looking into if you are feeling financially stressed during this time.

Online and in store sales:

Sales…. Take advantage of the sales leading up to Christmas. Here are some dates to make note of:

24^th October – Click Frenzy

26^th November – Black Friday

28^th November – Cyber Monday

26^th December – Boxing Day sales

Limit your gift list, remember you don’t have to purchase gifts for everyone. Sometimes thoughtful and inexpensive gifts are perfect for others around you as well. As they say, it is the thought that counts!

Having a budgeting plan in place for the holiday season can prove to be very effective and assist with your financial wellbeing during this time. If you would like to learn more, please feel free to reach out to one of our friendly Mortgage and Finance Brokers here at Financia.