Stretch your rand this festive season
Want to start the New Year with no regrets? Here are a few tips to ensure that you have a happy festive season and an equally happy.
The festive season is about fun, family and making memories with all the festivities you will be engaging in with your loved ones. If not planned properly, the festive season can also be expensive and lead you to having existential questions at the beginning of the New Year.
Here are a few tips to ensure that you have a happy festive season and an equally happy New year with no regrets:
- Budget:
Especially when you have children or have guests coming over for the holiday. Everything looks fun during the festive season, but all things fun normally costs money. It is important to work out how much you are willing to spend before as well as how much you can spend?
A budget is essential to ensure that you don’t spend more than you have or need.
- School is essential.
Yes, it’s December, but before you know it, it will be January and the kids need to go back to school. This means new uniforms and stationary are a must. Beat the rat-race and give yourself peace of mind and buy all school essentials early. If your children use private transportation to school, make sure January’s fare is already paid in December.
This gives you breathing room in the New Year. Being broke in the New Year does have to disrupt the beginning of the school year.
- Planning is essential
Will you be eating out or in this festive season? How many times do you plan to do this? Can you afford to do this constantly throughout the holiday? These are very important questions to ask.
After completing your budget, check if it makes leeway for you to eat out? Also, if this will be viable when considering the number of people coming to visit
Having people visit or children stay home for the holidays is fine and theory but challenging in practice. If you will be eating in most of the time, do you have enough food to feed everyone for the duration of two to three weeks?
If not, try having your guests visit on Day of Reconciliation, for Christmas lunch or dinner a New Year’s Eve braai. It is just as fun.
- Buy in bulk.
It’s cheaper. It might mean having to be creative when making meals over the holidays. But it also means you will have some ingredients left for the first few days of the New Yew. Just remember to store it well.
- Say no.
Yes, the holidays are time for giving. But give yourself some peace of mind and say no to things you deem as unnecessary. Your wallet will thank you later.
