Christmas is marketed as the most wonderful time of the year, but it can be very stressful and financially straining for a number of people who struggle to make ends meet during the festive season. With presents to buy for all the loved ones in our lives, plus all the other expenses that come as part of the Christmas package it is understandable that people can run into financial difficulty throughout winter. With these top tips, you should be able to keep your finances in check throughout Christmas.

Budgeting

Before your start doing any Christmas shopping, it is important to sit down with a notebook and a ballpoint pen to work out home much money you have to spend, and where it all needs to be spent. December is just any other month in which your monthly pay will be the same, you still need to pay your rent or mortgage and household bills, as well as your regular food shop. Once all of those responsibilities have been paid for, whatever is left over is now your festive budget. Plus, it’s not just Christmas presents that need buying, there’s also Christmas food and drinks, decorations, gift wrap and postage, Christmas cards and the cost of petrol or travel tickets if you’re a visiting a loved one far away for Christmas. Keep all these factors in mind when drafting out your budget, and working how much money you can set aside for each.

Strategy

We’ve all been there, queuing up to get into a shopping centre on Christmas Eve, battling it out with the other shoppers to get to the items you need first. Avoid all that this year by doing all of your Christmas shopping earlier. Not only will this save you a great deal of stress and headaches, your budget should be able to stretch a lot further as the goods you need should be available at smaller prices. Most retailers inflate their costs the closer it gets to Christmas. An increasing number of shoppers now do the most of their shopping online as it can be the place to get the best deals, delivery can be prompt, but many physical retailers simply can’t compete.

Loans

If finances are particularly tight during the festive period, then you can always arrange to borrow enough money to tide yourself over. You friends or family could be your first port of call, especially as they know you will pay them back as soon as you can. Alternatively you could ask your bank or a payday loan direct lender. It is important to consider the amount of interest that will also be repayable, and remember not to rely on payday loans as a long term solution, they are simply intended to help you make it to your next payday. You should also never borrow an amount larger than you can afford to pay back. 0% interest credit cards are also worth taking advantage of during the Christmas season and you can then pay off what you owe in the new year.

Categories: General