Christmas….. the time seems to fly from one year to the next!
While it’s a joyful time for children and a wonderful time for family to be together, it can also be a difficult time. Organising and preparing meals, gift purchasing Christmas parties and functions can make it a busy time and sometimes it can also be stressful when credit card bills arrive in the new year.
We have put together a few ideas to help you minimise your financial stress over Christmas:
Create a Christmas budget
Starting a Christmas savings account early in the year can relieve the financial pressure. If you want to limit the amount of money spent on gifts, suggest changes to the way your family and friends exchange gifts. Maybe children only, buying gifts under a set figure, or purchase a gift for one person in the group. Secret Santa is always fun.
Start shopping for gifts early
Don’t leave Christmas shopping to the last minute! Avoid pushing through overcrowded shopping centres looking for the perfect gifts. If you have left your Christmas shopping to the last minute, create a list of the gifts you need in advance, so you don’t have to waste precious time “browsing” or exceed your budget. Or turn to today’s modern way of shopping in the comfort of your home – Online.
Post-Christmas sales
Not a great option for kids, however, instead of purchasing gifts before Christmas consider gifting pre-paid vouchers. This allows choice of gifts from the Boxing Day or New Year sales. This will make sure you can stick to your budget and your gift will go further on sale items.
Share meal expenses
If you are hosting family and friends for a Christmas meal, share tasks with your guests rather than doing everything yourself. Organise for everyone to bring a share plate to create a buffet-style Christmas. This way, everyone is contributing and the stress of buying food for several people will ease.
Planning ahead will remove a lot of pressure and stress.
We hope you have a fabulous Christmas surrounded by family and friends, and our wish to you for the 2020 year is for it to be prosperous, full of love and opportunity. All the best for the new year!
