Feeling the Grunt from the Festive Season? 7 Habits of Highly Successful Savers that will Prepare You for Next Year

admin | January 31, 2014

Holidays can be a super exciting time, but it can be such a whirlwind of presents and forking out money that when it’s time to get back to reality – you’re broke, exhausted and have a lot of catching up to do.

There are a handful of us that are money smart during the festive season. But, for the ones that aren’t so prepared tend to be left in a financial heap come January. We look into a few tips to prepare you this year and save you from the financial grunt of the festive season.

1. Start Early

The best advice for anyone suffering post-holiday blues because you have no money is to simply plan early. Come December when you’re left with a Christmas present list the size of your arm, retail shops have jacked their prices up and you’re left with the pain of spending almost double on items you could’ve purchased for half the price.

Planning early is the sensible idea and sounds easy, but for those that are experts at leaving things to the last minute, it can be hard to stay on top of things. Once you can see the savings and stress-free shopping it brings you, you’ll be pleasingly surprised. Start by putting the more expensive items on layby and pay them off over the year, or when you see something you think would make a great present – grab it early. Look out for after Christmas sales or mid-year sales where you can be sure to grab a bargain.

2. Create a Budget –and Stick to it

The word “budget” usually scares a few people off, with its negative connotations that because you’ve locked your money away you can’t buy what you want or do fun things – but, that’s not always the case. A budget is just a spending plan, a way to allocate your money to help control impulse shopping and keep track of what you want now, and what can wait a while.

Your budget should be flexible, realistic and work with your current lifestyle. You don’t want to give yourself spending restrictions every time, but you need a good outline to ensure your priorities are paid first. Your budget should be reviewed on a regular basis to make sure it fits with you financial goes, if it doesn’t, or it’s not working for you, tweak it. Budgets will be difficult at first, and you will be tempted to keep spending – but with a little practice and discipline, the rewards will be significant. If you need some extra help, consider using a savings program to map out your finances for you.

3. Distinguish Between Needs and Wants

Following on from creating (or tweaking) your budget, it’s essential you distinguish what you actually need compared to what you want. If that holiday at the end of the year is important to you, then you’re probably going to have to make a few sacrifices along the way.

After you have identified your needs, like paying your rent or mortgage, food and other financial obligations – budget for them and then set aside some money for savings. Be careful of impulse buys, if you see something you like; sleep on it to decide if it’s really what you want in the morning. The more you save now, the more financial freedom you will have over the festive season to enjoy your well-earned break.

4. Be Sparing with Lending Your Money

This is especially hard when you have a helpful, put-everyone-else first personality but a key element to saving is to be sparing with whom (and when) you lend your money too. If you can’t afford your own priorities, you shouldn’t be spending money on things you don’t need or offering to lend family and friends money.

On the flip side, if you’re really stuck and need to borrow money consider looking into fast cash loans as opposed to maxing out your credit or relying on your friends. This will ensure you don’t get left with high interest rates to pay back or put you in an uncomfortable situation with people you know.

5. Give the Credit Card a Break

Just like you need a holiday, your credit card also needs a chance to recoup. Many people hate carrying cash around but instead of taking your credit card with you every time you go out, allocate yourself some spending money and take just that in cash. This way, your credit card will feel a little happier and you won’t be making as many spontaneous purchases.

6. Think Alternatively

Let’s face it; no matter how many times we try to avoid it present buying and holidays are always going to approach us at the worst financial times possible. Just when you’re on top of things, your best friend pops out a baby and your sister is getting married and it’s all around the corner from Christmas time! The best way around this is to become more practical – why not wait until after Christmas to buy next year’s Christmas presents!? If you have a huge family, how about suggesting you just buy for the children and do a secret Santa for the adults? This way you’re minimising your present buying, but everyone still gets something special.

Often with people away over the festive season, there are some friends or family members you won’t see until the New Year. For these people, waiting to buy their present after Christmas can help save some money too.

Online shopping has become increasingly popular over the last few years and if you haven’t checked it out already, this year should be a good starting point for you. Consumers are saving hundreds with online shopping, from your groceries right though to present buying or hotel and holiday deals. Just be careful the sites you’re buying from a secure and always check the shipping costs – if you’re buying international the postage and handling costs can work out more expensive than the item so buy in bulk or weigh up what works cheaper.

Be careful though, just because you’re saving money by shopping online you can still get into the trap of impulse spending. Set your limit before you start and know who you’re buying for – if you come across things you want too but it’s not a priority at the moment, write it down on your wish list and check back later when there is a sale. Asking for online shopping vouchers for presents will also give you some spending money without digging into your own funds.

7. Create an Emergency Fund

And finally, when you’re back on track financially – make sure you’re prepared for the worst! Creating an emergency fund will be the designated account for just that, emergencies. Whether it is forking out money for your car that just broke down, or an unexpected financial crisis pops up – at least you will have some money specifically set aside to ease the pressure. This saves you delving into you own personal savings or putting you back where you started. To start off with, allocating just a small weekly amount (even if it’s only $10) will eventually add up and give you a good emergency net to fall back on.

Author Bio

Jaquie Dymock heads up the Australian division of small cash loan provider, Ferratum Australia. Feel free to connect with Jaquie on Google+.