A mom’s guide to planning around December/January expenses

Financial demands during the months of December and January can be overwhelming. Not only are parents under the pressure to make Christmas as festive as possible with fun-filled vacations, hearty meals and pat-on-back Christmas presents that their children have been coveting all year through, but they also have to budget for back-to-school, with new uniforms, stationery and school registration fees.

One financially savvy mother – a veteran newshound at the Citizen – has got year-end planning down to a science. Narissa Subramoney shared her organisation tips with the masses to help them live their best life in the most financially responsible way possible.

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Rule no. 1: Start as early as possible – prioritise school

“As a parent, I start my financial planning for December as early as July,” she says. Narissa prioritises her daughter’s school expenses above Christmas and travelling demands.

“School uniforms are available online throughout the year so I usually do uniform replenishing (like replacing worn/lost items) from August, and even July.”

She advised that the summer uniforms are cheaper in winter and encourages parents to buy them and store them until the next year. “I will buy a few items every month until October. Once the school sends the orders for stationery and textbooks, I buy and bank by October those as well. That way, at the end of October, school shopping is out of the way and I only need to concentrate on school fees. We also pay fees and transport for January once the December salary is in,” she said.

“We also put the January budget that will carry us to the 25th away. We forget about it for the rest of December,” she said.

After these things are taken care of, Narissa focuses on the Christmas festivities.

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Rule no. 2: Make a list of gift receivers – space out these purchases

One of Narissa’s family traditions – like most families around the world – is to visit their extended family members who live far away. Coupled with this visit, is the extending of a gift. “I make a list of the people I will be seeing. Then I start shopping for this in August. That way, the purchasing of gifts is staggered and doesn’t take such a toll on my budget. We set a limit of R350 per person and do a secret Santa where we draw family names out of a hat and buy for one person. There’s also a fun ‘gift stealing’ tradition. We draw a ‘gift steal pass’ from a hat, usually, only two people can steal/swap,” she said.

Rule no. 3: Don’t visit everyone everywhere all in one go – alternate by the year.

“We alternate between families in three provinces every year. On the years that I am travelling, I book and pay for flights/accommodation as early as July,” she explained. Narissa says that she first puts in the application for her leave from around mid-year and once that is approved, she immediately books the accommodation.

“December bonuses usually provide the budget for petrol and tolls. We allocate a certain amount for food and alcohol for the month too,” Narissa said. She was clear to emphasize the importance of buying holiday alcohol from larger outlets as opposed to ordering services.

“Throughout the year, while I am grocery shopping for the week/month, I will buy my spirit of choice and keep it away. My partner and I also give each other alcohol as gifts,” she explained.

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Rule no. 4: Do your staycation grocery shopping in November.

“I usually buy a leg of lamb, whole chickens, and braai meat for the main days: Christmas, Boxing Day, NYE and NYD in November and freeze them away. That’s the bigger expenses out the way,” she said.

After that, all she is left to shop for is fruit, veggies and other perishables. “Those I buy with my December salary,” she said.

“As a rule, I don’t leave everything for December. Pre-planning one’s year-end well in advance really helps to take the pressure off. It also lets you enjoy that time of the year for what it is – time with family, to relax and unwind from the year that was,” she concluded.