Make the most of a frugal Christmas
Even though money may be scarce, here are the best ways to stretch your rand during the holiday season.
Are you dreading Christmas this year? Even if you aren’t hosting, extra groceries and new presents can set anyone back a pretty penny. Having a Christmas budget in place is necessary if you are cash-strapped. Even though money may be scarce, here are the best ways to stretch your rand during the holiday season.
First things first: What is comfortable spending during Christmas? A suggested Christmas budget is no more than 1,5% of your gross income. Of course, being frugal during the festive season means being creative.
Set your priorities: Start by setting priorities of how you are going to spend your money and time. Priorities might include spending quality time with your children, reaching out to family you haven’t seen in a while and creating some lasting memories.
Start planning early: The best way to ensure you don’t blow your budget is to start planning for the holidays as soon as you can. Keep a separate account for holiday spending. You can even start planning for next year’s holiday season immediately after this one by depositing a small amount of money into the account.
Be realistic about what you can afford: Decide which expenses are must-haves, choose one or two nice-to-haves if you have money left over, assign an amount to each expense category in your budget, break that down and assign a monetary amount to each expense.
Shop at second-hand stores: This also includes re-gifting. If you don’t have anything to re-gift, consider buying gifts at second-hand stores, flea markets, thrift shops, garage sales etc. Better yet, make gifts instead of buying them.
