How to save money during the festive season

With the festive period around the corner, a lot of people have started to make plans on how to spend their money. Many people are feeling the financial burden when they think about all of the gifts, clothes, drinks and food stuff they need to purchase and which destination they need to travel to so as to enjoy the holiday frenzy. The festive season brings with it a lot of joy, fun, celebrations; you get to see your family and friends that you haven’t seen in a long while. And while you are still celebrating, you get to lose your focus on your financial planning. 

The current economic recession has crippled a lot of businesses in the country, prices have gone up, and people no longer have money to spend on things that they are used to. This is not to say that exchanging gifts should not be part of the coming festive season. But you have to be extra careful on the way you spend your money so that you don’t go broke. Holiday shopping is fun and gifts are a way to show how much you care for someone. There are many options other than going shopping to the mall, or traveling abroad and spending too much money. Additionally, the festive season is a time to reflect on a lot of things such as the important things in your life, and the people that mean a lot to you. It does not necessarily mean that you have to spend your last dime just to please them, or a way to show off that you have money.  

Do not make costly financial mistakes. Spend, but within limits, with the right awareness and after taking a holistic view of your finances. Here are some creative and festive ways to save money this holiday season so that you don’t strain your budget.

1. Set the right expectations within the family.

Family is typically the center of our life. We love, we care. But we also tend to sometimes go berserk while expressing our love, by indulging them in expensive gifts. Let's be more financially disciplined and understand that, while we do love our family, purchasing expensive gifts is not the only way of expressing one's love. Ensuring proper fiscal prudence and things like taking the right insurance, making proper investments etc, play a much bigger role in deciding a family's well-being. Rather than spending money, sit down together with your family members and discuss the financial situation and plan what to get that you think are important. A collective decision plays a big role in enhancing ties between family members. Also, often it is here that the compatibility between the spouses comes to test.

2. Set a budget and stick to it.

First things first! You have to create a budget. This will require sitting down to figure out how much you make each year, and how much you will spend during the festive period. A festive spending shouldn’t let you stop any systematic investments or savings you have been making your financial goals. The best way to sticking to your budget is by writing down the list of things that you will buy during the festive period. And make sure that you don’t go outside the plan; even when you want to go shopping, don’t take your ATM card with you because this will make you to get things that are not on your list. 

3. Go for things you ‘need' rather than things you ‘want'.

As Warren Buffet, the legendary value investor has so wonderfully said: "If you spend on things you do not need today, you will have to sell the things you need later". Remember this golden rule when you make your vital spending decisions. So, instead of buying designers clothes or shoes just to show off when you travel to your home town, buy things that you will really need. Why waste money? The important question to ask yourself is, ‘do I really need this?' Clarity on this front is half the battle won!

4. Make a list and stick to it

It’s easy to spend too much during the holidays, even if you have good intentions; you might be walking through a local boutique and happen upon something you think is just perfect for your friend back home, or you are at the mall to grab one item and end up picking up 10 because you suddenly thought of many more people you want to get gifts for. In other words, you might find yourself impulse-shopping, even if it is for others.

Instead, make a list of all the people you need to buy gifts for so you can budget out a realistic amount of money to spend on each person on your list. Think ahead of time what you want to get for everybody so you don’t splurge on a luxe beauty collection for your boyfriend or girlfriend and then realize you don’t have enough money to buy your sister the pair of shoes she’s been wishing for all year.

5. Plan Your Purchases Ahead of Time

Most stores do slash sales on many of their goods or products on the second to the last month of the year, or few weeks to the festive period. Plan your purchases so you can buy your items all at once, so as to get them at cheaper rates. 

BY: Pupwaya Timothy Dibal