There isn’t long before the dreaded C-word! Yes, sorry to talk about this! But, if you are thinking you have got plenty of time to yourself between now and the big day, you may have to start wrapping up everything quite soon. If you want to get ahead of the game, especially before everybody goes to the shops in droves, you have got to think about one important aspect, ensuring you have the finances ready for Christmas. What are the best ways that we can all prepare financially for the big day, but also, without spending half of next year paying back our credit cards?
Avoid The Sales
It certainly sounds like a good idea because there’s buy one get one free offers, and save 50% on X, Y, and Z, but this is what the shops do to entice us in to get more stuff. One way to bypass this is to go online. Psychologically speaking, you’ve got more control. And you have to remember that when you go online, there are certain deals that you can take advantage of. For the kids, you can look at cheap PS4 games at Latest Deals but remember, you have to avoid those major offers the big stores put out because they expect you to buy double, meaning that you will spend more than you intended to. Find ways to do it on your terms!
Get Paid To Shop
There are plenty of sites out there that give you the opportunity to earn points or a bit of extra cash while you shop. Doing this means that you can, to an extent, claw back some of the finances. But you have to spend a long time scouring the internet for these things. Getting paid to shop sounds great in theory, but there’s a lot of admin involved. So, tread carefully. Make sure it’s the products that really will benefit you and the family for the big day. Think about the big things like the turkey and the groceries.
Budget On Paper
We live in an age of direct debits, automated payments, and this means that we can lose track of how much we spend. We can roughly guess how much we are spending every month, but calculating it all in our heads is not the right way to go! The fact of the matter is if you are in your overdraft, there is a big difference in nearly hitting your overdraft limit and going over. All those terrible penalties can set you back. It all depends on the bank you are with, but because Christmas is one day, perhaps we need to keep this in perspective! Look at your budget, everything that you spend in terms of essentials, and look at how much you can realistically afford. Budgeting is one of those skills that will serve you well now and in the future.
And as much as we would like to see our children get everything they want, it’s not realistic. But also, is getting into debt, and taking years to escape it really worth it? That’s not to say you should not enjoy Christmas, but if you want to prepare financially, it’s very much about a combination method.
