4 Must Read Smart Christmas Tips
Christmas is the season of giving. Here are some tips on giving without suffering a new year financial hangover:
- Do a Christmas budget
- Reassess your gift list
- Use your debit card or lay-by
- Compare prices online
Do a Christmas budget
Create a budget for Christmas presents before you hit the shopping centre or online stores.
The budget should list all the people you need to buy gifts for and the price you want to spend on each person. Sticking to this budget helps you to avoid impulse buying and gives you better control of your money. You’ll avoid the January blues when your credit card statement hits.
Reassess your gift list
You could get your family or friends together and decide to reduce the number or cost of gifts by:
- Running a Kris Kringle, where each person is allocated another person to buy a gift for, and that’s the only gift they buy
- Limiting the cost of presents eg $30-$50 per gift
- In families where there are kids, only buying presents for them and not the adults
Use your debit card or lay-by
Try and stay away from using your credit card. Instead, buy gifts with your debit card or use lay-by. Then you’ll avoid paying high interest on your credit card in the new year.
Compare prices online
Compare costs of gifts online before you get to the shops. Then you’ll know the cheapest prices around and will be able to negotiate a better deal with retailers. If you decide to buy gifts online beware of scammers. They are very active at this time of year. Make sure you know who you are dealing with before you buy online.
