If Christmas usually leaves you broke and you’ve spent more time in the stores barging your way through the crowds when you could be at home with the family, how about making it easier this year?
We present to you 5 great tips to help you get through Christmas without spending too much money.
Pre-Christmas selling
You can still make extra money to help you through the holidays. Take some time and go through all the stuff in your house that you no longer need, like books, clothes, furniture or sports equipment. You can sell all this stuff online, or maybe have a garage sale, or even use buy-swap-sell websites like Gumtree.
List-making
Try making a list of the things you need to buy and all the food you will need to get through Christmas calmly. Making a list will help you keep track of your budget.
- Presents – Create a list of all the people you will be buying presents for.
- Groceries – Make another list of all the food and drinks you’ll need, and what the budget for it will be. Buy in advance if there are specials on, especially if items can be frozen or have a long shelf life.
Christmas shopping with social media
Following your favourite brand and shops on places like Facebook or Twitter, or even Instagram, may end up giving the best deals and discounts. Receiving their newsletters can also tell you when they are having deals and specials.
Share the load on Christmas Day
The price for feeding and entertaining the family can hit the roof at this time of year. But, with some simple planning, you will survive Christmas. Here are some ways to lighten the Christmas work:
- Share the workload – There’s no need to do all the work yourself. Ask everyone else to bring snacks, drinks and desserts.
- Try other shops – Make a list of all the groceries you need for Christmas, Then check the specials at different shops. Don’t buy try to buy everything at the same place, you may end up finding it cheaper somewhere else
- Use reward points – If you belong to a shops rewards community that builds up points when you spend a certain amount, you may find that you could use the points for discounts.
Plan for next Christmas
Once Christmas is over and done with, start planning for next years. Here are some tips to make sure you are totally prepared for next Christmas:
- Shop the sales – Shop for gifts for the family during sales.
- Layby – Lay-by the bigger presents a few months before Christmas so you can pay them off over time.
More information on our website
www.hannans360.com.au
We hope these tips helped you create a good budget. For more information on effective budgeting, contact us on (07) 3806 4484 or send an email to gday@hannans360.com.au
