Financial experts have always talked about the importance of budgeting before Christmas, but now that the price of everything is skyrocketing, tightening your pocket has never been more important. While some expenses, like mortgage payments or rent, are simply set in stone, there are certain changes you can make to avoid a financial hangover or year-end scare.
Keep reading to find out everything you need to know to celebrate Christmas on a budget adjusted to your household expenses.
TRICKS TO SAVE AT CHRISTMAS
During Christmas, spending on gifts, meals and parties skyrockets. Generally, we make a considerable financial outlay when, in reality, we can better manage money and make purchases. For this reason, we want to give you some tricks to save at Christmas and not have extra expenses. The idea is not to give up quality and fun.
Christmas is a time when we like to indulge ourselves. The gifts, the food and the decoration suppose to be extra expenses for our pocket; however, it is not always necessary to have to pay high prices. There is the possibility of acquiring quality and efficient products at a very good price, it is only a matter of searching and controlling what is bought. Let’s see, therefore, some ways to experience Christmas without having to spend too much.
1. PRIORITIZE CHRISTMAS EXPENSES
First things first: make a list of all your holiday expenses and prioritize each one. Decide what is important to plan your shopping list with these tips for shopping at the supermarket, for example, and what is a whim.
Your expense list should include everything from gifts to Christmas cards, decorating, special gifts, stuffing items, meals out, and new clothes. You may find it helpful to go through last year’s bank statements to see what you bought.
2. SET A CHRISTMAS BUDGET
Creating a budget is a good way to control holiday expenses. You can use an app to write down the figures or use a notebook or a classic Excel sheet, the important thing is that you write down each purchase that you are going to need to make at Christmas: food, gifts, Christmas decorations or trips. You can also include if you go to a Christmas market or see a Christmas show.
Once the budget is established, remember to write down the online shopping and the local business, and review your movements so as not to be surprised.
3. ECOFRIENDLY CHRISTMAS DECORATION
Dress up your house with creative proposals, like this zero-waste Christmas table. It is a sustainable solution in which restored furniture and recycled elements have been used to decorate this rustic and vintage environment. And remember: an eco-responsible table always discards single-use disposable utensils. Reproduce this atmosphere in your home by rescuing the enamelled tableware from the seventies, the handmade amber glassware, a linen tablecloth and clay vases.