Nothing beats that Best Dinner Cruise in Paris and end-of-year feeling. You can spend some quality time with the people you love and make up for those days lost to hard work during the year. You have slogged away and deserve that bonus and you will probably find yourself in a generous state of mind. It is normal to want to open your wallet and spoil yourself as well as your friends and family.
But spending without restraint is a surefire way to start the new year with financial strain. Knowing your spending limit is a critical first step. Decide on a figure you cannot exceed, and do this long before hitting the shops. Write down the number you come up with, then keep track of your expenses by checking your bank or credit card balance every couple of days.
Now that you have determined what your spending limiting is. Divide the amount between the following groups: gifts, entertaining (food. drinks and decor), family entertainment (such as movies and outings). travel and any special purchases you have promised yourself. Include all your expenditures, from everyday groceries to the expensive purchases.
Sticking to a stricter financial plan will require the collaboration of everyone in your household. Tell them why you need to go easy this year and let them know you need their support. Make it a family challenge. Encourage your kids to come up with creative ways to save money. Or set a ‘savings target’ and every time someone thinks of an idea to cut costs, record it on a scoreboard. Don’t think this means you’ll have a miserable holiday – the trick is to find cost-effective activities that everyone will enjoy and one of them is Dinner Cruise in Paris.
There’s no correct time to set your holiday savings plan into motion – you could even start in March to ease the pressure later on in the year. ‘Work out exactly how much you need to be putting aside every month to ensure you have enough of a kitty when December rolls around. Make it a priority to save. An interest bearing account is ideal but even a piggy bank is better than nothing whatever works for you.
When buying presents, have a list of what you want to give each person. This can save you significant amounts of money. How? You’ll be less likely to go for the overpriced, impulse purchases. And the earlier you start shopping. the more time you’ll have to consider the gifts you want to buy.
You really don’t want to be fighting off three other last-minute shoppers for the only box of gourmet, ridiculously expensive Christmas biscuits because you forgot about Uncle Ted. Set yourself a deadline for when you want to have all your shopping done.
