7 Money Management Tips for this Christmas

Yes, it’s that time of the year again when we are expecting gifts from our family, friends, and “Santa” under our Christmas trees!

But this year, even the most dedicated Christmas planner feels stressed with financial and social pressures after limited festivities in 2020 due to Covid.

But don’t worry! In today’s blog, we will discuss specific steps that you can take to minimize Christmas stress and keep your costs down.

From different ways to save to why you should prioritize the important stuff this year, here are our top money management tips for this Christmas:

1. Make a list and check it twice!

We can easily get carried away at Christmas, buying presents as you see them in the shopping malls and then panicking at the last minute and buying more for our friends and families.

To prevent this, we must plan how much we can spend this year and then break this down into the items we have to devote money to, such as presents, food, and travel.

We can plan this by assigning a budget to each item that we need to buy and sticking to it for preventing financial stress around Christmas and beyond.

This will help us to do money management and also help us in prioritizing the things that are important to us and our family.

2. Buy Strategically!

For tempting us to spend even before Christmas, many retailers organize pre-Christmas sales, in which they slash the price of everything from toys to electronics.

So, look at your Christmas shopping list and think whether you should buy some items in sales that will help you save.

You should then look up the potential sale and mark them in your calendar to don’t forget.

However, just don’t get caught up in the excitement and end up overspending. It would help if you remembered to stick to the items on your list only and do some research before the sales start to determine the best price for that item.

You can also check if this is a good deal by running through a quick search online to see what price other retailers are selling the product before buying it.

3. Think different this year

This coronavirus pandemic has shown many people the importance of friends and family. But, unfortunately, due to complete lockdown, many people have also missed social interaction more than material possessions or habits like going to the gym.

So, don’t forget this and we can think differently about Christmas presents this year. We can plan a winter walk, get together, or just a day out with a friend rather than exchanging gifts.

We have also brushed up on our baking skills during the lockdown. If so, we can also whip up tasty homemade treats for friends and family for Christmas, such as cookies and cakes, rather than buying an impersonal present. What an excellent idea? Right?

If you have children, you can get them involved in homemade gifts. But, of course, we shouldn’t forget how lovely homemade cards and even wrapping paper are. So we can think of it as a family art session, which is also a budgeting one.