When was the last time when you were not nonplussed by your credit card debt after the holiday period was over? It takes a few months to restore your financial situation. The holiday season is around the corner, and you may feel excitement in your bones. You might have started planning how you will celebrate this year. As you know, your brain gets fogged after the holiday season when you find yourself with an inordinate amount of debt.
You should set spending boundaries beforehand to avoid a debt headache after the festive season. When you know how much money you want to spend, where and how, you will unlikely experience financial difficulties. Overspending is natural during the holiday season, but you need to have your head screwed on the right way.
Here are some tips to set spending limits for this holiday season:
- Accept that travelling is not a must
As new commitments become part of your life, you understand it is really hard to maintain the same travel routine. When the holiday season is up, you tend to decide to fly somewhere else for a couple of days. Your family becomes a good excuse. Many students visiting their parents during holidays find that the flight eats up a lot of their budgets. Likewise, when you have debts to pay off, like a mortgage and a car loan, every penny seems worth millions of pounds.
The “We will see” attitude often forces you to make bad financial decisions. You will have a lot of excuses, such as your kids were bored or it had been a long time since you went on a vacation, but remember that in the end, it is you who will have to face the music.
The worst part is that you fund your vacation with a personal loan. In some cases, people have been seen taking out joint loans for bad credit. Borrowing money to fund your travelling costs may work against your finances, especially when you already owe other debts.
Holiday loans are short-term loans and expensive. There are times when your finances may not allow you to be on a vacation.
- Set spending limits
Before you go on a shopping spree, you should set a strict budget so you know how much your pocket allows. The benefit of setting spending limits beforehand is that you will not be bolted out of the blue when you look at your bank statement. Try to choose a figure for your expenses and make sure it does not come out randomly.
You should be comfortably able to manage your expenses within this limit. To find out that figure, you will have to review your budget. Your travel budget is likely quite tight. If so, do not try to pull more money, as you will end up with little cash for your other expenses.
This will result in taking out a young person loan to meet your essential expenses. You will likely go deeper into debt, so be careful. If your budget is weak, you should try to cut down on your celebration expenses.
- Stick to the list
During the holiday season, it is easy to be caught up in the celebration spirit. Gifts, decoration, hosting, travelling and other related expenses can quickly drain your budget. Therefore, it is essential to make a list of things to do in advance. This will also help you include only those things that easily fit into your budget. Make sure you stick to the list because adding new things or items means wrecking your budget.
At the time of making a list, write names of people that are a high priority and how much you want to spend for their gifs. The trick to stick to your budget is to start shopping months before. It does not make sense to start shopping at the end of November only to find that your budget cannot meet these expenses.
- Shop around the best deal
In order to get the best deal, you do not have to wait for super-saving sales such as Black Friday, Cyber Monday, etc. Eminent retailers offer discounts throughout the year. In fact, you will likely buy most of the items at reduced prices when buying outside of the Black Friday Sale. This is because retailers hike their prices during the festive season.
Despite getting a hefty discount, it will cost you much more money. If you are looking to trim down your holiday budget, you should start shopping before the festive season starts. This time is crucial for buying affordable gifts and wardrobes.
Look for discounts and special offers to get a good bargain. You should compare the retail prices with those online. You will most probably get the same stuff and quality at reduced prices. You can even avoid delivery fees if you are buying a lot of items in one order.
Handling fees are charged by some retailers but skipped if you make payments at the time of placing an order. There are several shopping apps that you can use to compare prices. Keep checking the offers as you never know when the best offer is available.
- Try DIY decoration
Do not need to rely on a professional to decorate your house because this will cost you a lot of money. Try to spend on decoration as little as possible. You can decorate your house on your own. You might be a babe in the woods when it comes to decoration, but you just need to be a bit creative.
The final word:
To have fun, you do not need to break the bank. Analyse your financial situation and then determine how much spare money you have to spend on the celebration. In case of a weak budget, trim down your festive expenses.
