SOCIAL MEDIA

Keep Your Money At Bay During The Holiday

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The first ‘ber’ month is here. It is already September! Can you believe it? Can you feel the holiday atmosphere? Is the wind colder already? Are you excited? I for one can’t contain my glee. I am just in love with the ‘ber’ months. Yesterday as I was walking around in our local mall, they were playing Christmas songs already. There is just something in these months that we love and that can make us happy. Not to mention, the 13th month pay and bonus we will be getting during December. And of course the gifts that we will get and the feasts we can enjoy.

The holiday is also known to drain our resources such as our money. True, we have bonuses to expect however it seems that it is still not enough with the many expenses to anticipate. Of course, we need to shell out money for the parties, buy gifts for our family, relatives and friends and spend more on other things. Not to mention the many Christmas sales and Christmas bazaars left and right. The holidays can literally drain our money. We sometimes welcome the next year with no money at all in our wallets and in our pockets. Worst, we have debts.

Now, since the ‘ber’ months are just starting, it is best that as early as now we keep our money at bay with the fast approaching holiday. Here are some tips that can help us guarantee such.

Plan Ahead

The very first thing to do would be to plan, plan and plan. As early as now, list down the possible events that you will attend to, the gifts you need to give and to whom. Plus, don’t forget your would be expenses at home for Noche Buena and Media Noche. In here, make a list of those parties and its basic requirement like the exchange gifts and the food to bring. Make sure to generate a gift list as well and stick to it. You see, advance planning will eliminate gift pressure and you have a well planned scope of individuals rather than buying gifts for almost everyone. Even Santa is planning to only give gifts to the good kids. See that’s planning right there.

Budget Creation

The next thing to do would be to create a budget. It might not be extensive however identify here how much money will go to a particular item or event. For instance, if you are planning to give a gift to your mother, how much money will be allocated for that? If you are going to attend an office party, how much would be the possible total sum? How much should be allocated for the gift and for the food? The numbers might not be precise however simply define an amount that you can work around.

From the budget, define how much would be your cash inflow. Your cash inflow must be greater than your total budget. In your cash inflow, identify how much your total income is, your 13th month pay and your holiday bonuses. If upon calculation your budget is over and above your cash inflow, stretch your budget and adjust the numbers accordingly. We don’t want to get overboard with our spending and end up in debt right? Welcoming the next year with such would be a bad idea.

Shop Early

As the holiday draws near, the prices are increasing as well. Shopping ahead means making the most of sales and even seasonal pricing trends. Plus, you don’t need to shop along with a bunch of people in the mall. With this mechanism, you can be able to spread out your spending. For instance, you might shop for gifts for your family on September, friends on October and grandchildren for November and so on. The reason why one would get in debt during the holidays is because they tend to shop all at once. Early shopping also allows better gift assessment and you can still look at other places for cheaper alternative. For a more personalized approach, you can always proceed with some do-it-yourself presents that are way cheaper. Plus, it will also give you more time to plan ahead and work on it.

The holiday surely is a time that we love and anticipate most. However, this does not mean that we can throw away all our hard earned money to almost anything. Considering the number of parties, gifts and foods, there is always a work around on maximizing the value of our money whilst not compromising the holiday spirit. We only have to be financially smart and prepared as early as today.







P.S. To those doing the 52 Week Money Challenge and 52 Week Money Challenge Version 2, it is Week 36 already! Did you deposit the next amount yet?

P.P.S Want to know more about investing, savings, stock market and more, check out my reference here. You can download free ebooks and resources too.