Once the festivities are over, are you left nursing a financial hangover?
Although this is the season to be joyful, the costs of Christmas can leave with with a hole in your savings, a painful stack of unpaid bills or a maxed out credit card. The average Australian parent spends an average of $235.18 on each of their children during Christmas. Add to that expenses for other gifts, food, alcohol and entertaining and the total can be very scary.
According to a Christmas Gift Survey conducted by MasterCard in 2009 the average Australian was expected to spend just over $1000 on Christmas food, travel and gifts. The figure may be even higher. SavingsGuide.com.au, conducted a survey earlier this year on spending, and anticipate that people will end up with a Christmas credit card debt of up to $3000. This is a debt they will have to service for the rest of the following year.
Why not make Christmas this year different and spend only what you can afford?
PLAN AHEAD
With only 2.5 weeks until Christmas - you can still save but you have to set yourself a strict budget. Write a list of gifts and allocate your funds before you shop.
GO ONLINE
If you want to escape the chaos of Christmas shopping, look online. Don't just accept the first price you see, though - shop around. Gower is a fan of websites such as http://www.catchoftheday.com.au/ "I saved $50 on a new-release PS3 game for my son", she says. While she doesn't recommend sites such as they all year round as they can lead to wasteful purchases, she says they can be a lifesaver at Christmas. Look at bargains from abroad to take advantage of the strong Aussie dollar.
Sites for savings
Simple Savings Website
BE ORGANISED
If you are hosting the Christmas festivities write a list of food and drinks on the menu. You can stagger the expense over a few weeks. rather than one massive shop. Having a list to follow will help to protect you from costly impulse buys and you will still have time to shop around and pick up items on special. Our family are all bring a plate of cold meat or salad to share this Christmas so that the job & expense of cooking is shared around the family. Our house also gets Crisco Hampers delivered each year which takes off a huge expense on groceries this time of year.
If you are hosting the Christmas festivities write a list of food and drinks on the menu. You can stagger the expense over a few weeks. rather than one massive shop. Having a list to follow will help to protect you from costly impulse buys and you will still have time to shop around and pick up items on special. Our family are all bring a plate of cold meat or salad to share this Christmas so that the job & expense of cooking is shared around the family. Our house also gets Crisco Hampers delivered each year which takes off a huge expense on groceries this time of year.
NO CREDIT PLEASE
Most people really should not have credit cards - including me. I keep our spending under control with a Mastercard Debit card - which works exactly the same as a credit card but the money comes out of your bank account in real time, so if you don't have the funds, you can't spend it.
THE THOUGHT COUNTS
You can find the perfect gift by thinking outside the square - get browsing on ebay, check out op shops or make something. Eg make home sauce or jam jars and give as gifts - you could even design your own personalise label to put on them.
Themed hampers for a low-cost gift can work well too. You may have someone who loves to go to the movies, so you could get them a voucher, popcorn, lollies and a pair of 3D glasses and package it all up together in an attractive box or cellophane.
TREE TIP
Instead of covering your tree with expenses decorations how about a tree of happy memories? Scour your house for photos, then stick them on pieces of card, punch a hole through the top & hang them in the tree with curling ribbon.
Make your own gift tags, Christmas Cards & wrapping paper.
A FREE HOLIDAY
A house swap could save you thousands of dollars. To get started, register with Aussie House Swap (www.aussiehouseswap.com.au). You can view houses without having to join up, but for $65 a year you can list your house, view other houses and arrange swaps.
CHRISTMAS FUND 2012
If you are not one of those organised people who hit the Boxing Day or January sales and save a fortune on decorations/lights and gifts for next Christmas, the next-best option is to make a regular automatic payment into a separate account. Those with a home loan can add a little extra to their repayments. Keeping your savings in a home loan with a redraw facility is tax free, saves you interest and acts as a way to build a buffer without feeling out of pocket. Putting in just $20 a week in extra repayments is a great way to save more than $1000 for next Christmas.
What are you Christmas savings tips & gift ideas?
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