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7 Tips to Manage Your Finances This Christmas

Business Post NG

  It’s the season to be merry—and one in which shopping goes into overdrive. When Christmas comes around, a sizeable portion of the public makes its way to malls and markets to purchase stuff that’ll glitter, impress, and fill bellies. This translates to a lot of money spent. It also means that most people wind up with near-empty pockets by January.
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How can you avoid going into the New Year with a thin account balance? How do you scale the sweet traps that consumerist December sets for most of us? We’ll answer those questions here by talking about seven ways you can effectively manage your finances this Christmas. Here they are:

Examine Your Finances

The first step to spending responsibly is to know where you are financially speaking. After all, what will constitute a proper limit on your expenses will partly depend on how much money you actually have at your disposal. Look at your account balance, think about what your current and future needs are, and decide how conservative you should be with your spending in light of these facts.

Create A Budget

Have a budget for your Christmas expenses. This might seem like putting a leash on your happiness, but it’ll actually do you a lot of good in the end. List out the things you need to buy (not just anything that catches your fancy), and attach the corresponding current market price for each of them. Add the prices up, and you’ll get a fair estimate of what you’re going to spend this season. Next, do what you can to stick to the budget. If you’re faithful to this rule, you’ll likely save yourself a decent amount of money in the process.
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Use Personal Finance Apps

Thankfully, there are several tools that simplify the process of budgeting and tracking expenses. These apps can help you plan your spending for the holidays and reveal how it could impact your finances. Some of them will even show you what items you’re spending the most on over a given period. Savings and personal finance apps can help you in so many ways. We absolutely recommend that you use them. Some examples include Inflow Finance, Sparkle, and PiggyVest.

Seek Out Deals And Discounts

Be ready to spot good deals that may be available for any of the products or services you want to purchase. Some vendors will offer discounts at this time of the year (and sometimes into the New Year) to attract more buyers. If they’re selling quality stuff, don’t pass up the bargain. Reduced prices give you an opportunity to save scarce funds.

Compare Prices

Don’t just settle for the bill you get from the first retailer you visit. Get quotes from multiple stores if possible, compare them, and go for one that gives you the best combination of price and quality. This might be a challenge if you’re shopping at physical locations, but it’s much easier when you’re doing so online. Do check out reliable web stores for the things you’d like to buy, and find out which ones give you the best value for your money.

Watch Out For Spending Triggers

Not all of your decisions to buy stuff are based on your need for them. A lot of other factors may be at play: the desire to impress family, friends and colleagues; a craving for certain edibles that you can (and probably should) do without; and a simple (but costly) want for new things. When you have the thought of buying more than you’ve budgeted for, you should assess that thought and decide whether there’s any good reason for going with it. Quite often, there isn’t.
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Do Your Shopping Early

Don’t wait until Christmas week to buy the things you need; the closer you get to the day, the more expensive they’ll be. Purchase whatever you’d like to have weeks ahead of that time, so you can save yourself the higher cost (and stress) of shopping in the days leading up to Christmas proper.

Final Words

January doesn’t have to meet you struggling with your finances. You can take the steps we’ve talked about here to strike a balance between having fun and being prudent with your spending this season. Featured Image Source: Business Post NG
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