This article contains a guide on the 11 Money-Saving Tips for the Festive Season. This is an opportunity for you to be prudent and not spend based on impulse or other factors.
The festive season is here again with its bustles from every corner. People are getting set for festive tours and travels. Whether you’re an introvert or one who doesn’t enjoy the festive noise, it must surely get to you in one way or the other.
As hard as it may sound, it’s inevitable. Do you know how? Spending & Festive expenses
Of course you want to spoil and enjoy yourself during the December festive season. Your budget, however will only allow you to do so much.
This year, even the most dedicated economist and planner is likely to feel overwhelmed by financial and social pressures after limited festivities the previous year due to the global pandemic. But there are certain steps you can take to check Christmas pressure as well as to keep your costs down.
From shopping tips and ways to save, to why you should prioritize your spending this year, here are some helpful money saving tips this festive season:
MONEY-SAVING TIPS FOR THE FESTIVE SEASON
1. Lock Some Money before the Peak Of Events
Sometimes, no matter how careful you are, you find yourself going beyond your spending budgets.
You may not have the plans to exceed your budget, but oftentimes, you get tempted to overspend. Overcoming such temptation is always very hard especially if you pay attention to the voice that says “YOLO or I can’t kill myself” like a popular Nigerian slang has it.
To deal with this challenge easily, you should have some money set aside in a locked plan so you don’t even have access to it until the festive period is over.
To do this, there are many Fintech saving and investment apps to consider. You can carry out research on that. Most of these apps pay you a particular percentage for locking and saving your money.
It is not too late to lock some money in preparation for the longest month of the year.
2. Have a Budget
Not too many people understand the advantage of making a list. It’s very easy to get carried away during the festive period, buying on impulse, hanging out and all have you. You are most likely not to notice how much you have spent till the last minute.
To prevent this, plan how much you want to spend and make a list of items and activities based on your budget.
Take your time to make this list and stick to it so as to prevent financial stress and overspending. Ideally, this should be done before the month of Christmas, but if you have done this before now, it is never too late.
It will certainly help you prioritize the things that are important to you.
3. Take Advantage of Discount Sales
The festive season usually comes with mouthwatering offers and discounts. From the Black Friday to early bird offers down to end of year sales. These and even more are a great opportunity to buy more and spend less. It helps you to save more. So, use it when you can.
Even with the mindset of paying less to get more, if care is not taken, you may end up buying more than you budgeted. Hence, don’t get caught up in the euphoria of grabbing a deal just to end up overspending. Stick to the items on your list only
In other words, buy strategically.
4. Shop/Stock-Up in Advance
Have you realized that there is always a hike in the price of items once it’s December. The price even gets higher as Christmas draws closer. To avoid this, the strategy is to go shopping even before the month of December. Stock up on non-perishable items ahead of time.
The only things you may have to buy are perishables.
5. Think Out of the Box
You know, we all have this age long thinking that there must be a hangout in a random eatery or park during the festive season, the cards must be purchased, and hampers must be bought from supermarkets.
But do you know that you can save more by just thinking out of the box? Yes
During the global pandemic lockdown, a lot of people got involved in learning some skills. If you’re skilled in baking, hand crafts, etc, why don’t you put your skills into use and save some cash?
Are you skilled in baking? If so, could you put together some homemade tasty pastries for your loved ones rather than purchase it from somewhere?
If it’s handcraft, design a beautiful seasonal greeting card. You don’t always have to buy them.
Think about Christmas presents differently this year and save some money while doing what you love.
6. Plan Your Travel
Travelling and tours seem to be an inevitable aspect of the festive season. People are always on the move either by air or road. Only a few do not travel.
This is one aspect of the festive period that drains funds if not strategically planned. Except you don’t have plans to travel, this is not really something you should worry about. For the travellers, the arrangements should have been concluded even if you come across this article. If at this time you haven’t concluded on this, you’re certainly on a long financial journey especially if you have the intention of traveling by air.
In case you have made a mistake this year, this information can still come in very handy.
7. Do your bookings in advance
For those who have plans to travel during the Christmas period, do your bookings before the month of December. Flights should be booked at least a month in advance if you’re trying to save cost. Hotels, tours, and others can be booked closer. Don’t joke about this, except you have cash to throw around.
8. Pairing
Traveling can be very expensive because you will be paying the bills alone, but if you intend to save some cool cash, get a travel partner if you’re not married. The person could be your friend or a colleague, irrespective of the gender, except you’re not comfortable with the opposite sex.
Whoever the person may be, the goal is to split the cost of “almost” everything, not to be all loved up. But where love gets in the way, who am I to discourage a beautiful thing as love. Enjoy the butterflies in the tummy feeling while remembering to save cost. On a serious note though, get a travel partner and save more.
9. Don’t Change Your Money at the Airport
If you’re embarking on international tours, avoid this mistake by all means. The exchange rates at the airports are ridiculously low. You would do yourself a lot of good by doing your money exchange outside the airport. Another smart option is to do that in the country where your money has more value.
10. Limit Outings
Festive season is not specifically meant for outings. So, limit your outings and hangouts. The more you hang out, the more the temptation to spend money. If you are out shopping be clear on how much you are going to spend, make a list of things to buy and stick to it. You’ll be happy you did.
You don’t have to go out every day this season. Pick a day to go out and find other fun and free things to do during the rest of the week. You could always arrange host sleepovers with your loved ones, play games under the moon in the comfort of your home garden, organise a potluck,etc. This way, younger people have an equal amount of fun but you will spend less.
11. Skip the Places and Events with Entrance Fees
First off, there is no crime in attending pair events but bear in mind that the goal of this article is to help you reduce cost.
So, look for free events you can attend without having to bother about entrance fees. There will be many of such events this season.
CONCLUSION
One important thing you need to understand is that you do not necessarily have to break a bank to have a memorable experience this festive season. All it takes is to plan properly in time.
There are many ways to save money during the festive period. It all starts with setting a realistic budget to help avoid overspending. So, why not take into consideration the tips in this article and thank me later with some homemade cookies and parfait.
While you do all the outings or travels you have planned, remember to save for the longest month of the New Year, January.
Read Also:
- 20 Ways to Save Money on Holidays
- Money-Saving Tips for University and College Students
- Top 10 Life Hacks To Save Your Money
- Ways to Make Money Fast As a Student or Graduate
- Money, Happiness and Success
- Easy Ways to Make Money from eBook
- How To Make Best Use of Your Holiday
