The December holidays are here and we are all worried that we will be overspending and be hit with the Janu-worry blues next year. But, can you avoid this, and how?
“The holiday season is a great time to spend with your family and friends, but we sometimes tend to overspend on things that we don’t need. Having a checklist sometimes helps ensure that we stick to our budgets and don’t overspend,” Ester Ochse, Product Specialist, FNB Financial Advisory noted.
She compiled a holiday checklist, which includes the following tips:
• Start saving early: You would have an idea of what you will be doing over the holiday season so start saving early. Saving from the onset will help cover costs over the holiday and festive season and offset any unexpected expenses.
Tip: Start with a 2020 savings goal chart. List all your goals for the year. Be creative and ensure that you stick to these goals.
• Budget for the month: On top of your yearly budget, ensure that you have a dedicated December budget. Many families celebrate the festive season and holidays in December, so expenses can easily pile up. In addition to the holiday saving, ensure that you save adequately for festive season gifts as these can be quite expensive.
Tip: In your spare time, try and create personalised gifts for your loved ones. This will hold special memories for your family.
• Travelling abroad or locally? Many families travelling abroad or locally over the holiday period can expect an increase in expenses. Whilst international travel is appealing, the allure of local travel is just as great.
– When travelling abroad, consider adding the following costs to your budget: visa (dependent on the country that you are visiting), return-flights, accommodation (hotel, Airbnb), food, entertainment, transport, tours and shopping.
– Local travelling – be it by car or airplane – still adds up as you must pay for toll fees, food, fuel, entertainment and accommodation.
Tip: Keep a travel album where all your travel brochures, costs, maps and savings ideas can be placed. This go-to travel album will come in handy when you are ready to travel.
• Staycation entertainment: The December period is a time for spending time with family and friends. So, whilst the occasional nights out at fancy restaurants sounds great, rather spend the time at home cooking up scrumptious meals or rather encourage bring and braais with family and friends. This will help save costs as restaurant bills can add up and become costly.
• The holiday period is also a long time to be at home so encourage your children to be creative with DIY fun activities that are free, such as movie or game nights. Families with pets will also save as they will not have to put them in a kennel.
Tip: expand your cooking skills by trying your hand at different culinary cuisines; or get your friends involved and host an Indian or Japanese culinary evening. This way everyone will learn about a new cuisine.
• Shopping: Make a list of what you will need over the holiday season and start shopping early. Those non-perishable items can be bought early and stored for the December period. In addition, many clothing retailers will have major sales, so wait for those sales instead of making those early purchases.
Tip: look out for online store vouchers, coupons and discounts which can be applied on checkout. This will help you save a little towards your shopping budget.
“A simple checklist will help guide you through your financial goals. It’s another way where you can monitor and ensure that you don’t wrack up your finances in a short period of time,” she concluded.
