How to Budget this Christmas

Christmas time is just around the corner – and for most of us that means spending some money. There are lots of things that we can break out the plastic for as the festive season draws near – presents for friends and family, office secret Santa’s, food, drink, trips away and New Year’s Eve events.

The following budget tips and tricks will make sure that your finances will stay on track this Christmas, while still ensuring that you’ll have a good time!

Set a Budget and Stick to It!

This is an old budgeting tip, but one that works well. It’s designed to stop you from overspending and pulling out the credit card. Sit down and figure out your income for the month or two leading up to December. Remove what you think you’re going to have to spend or set aside for bills, fuel, food and other fixed and variable expenses. Use the remaining figure as your Christmas budget – and spend only within its confines. That way you know you have a certain amount for every aspect of your Christmas preparation instead of spending like crazy, and having to look at your bank statement or credit card bill afterwards in horror!

Make Some of Your Gifts

Never underestimate the power of a well thought-out and handmade gift. You’ll be achieving a few different things by handcrafting some of your gifts this Christmas. First of all, you’ll be nurturing your own creative side – whether it’s writing someone a song or poem, creating a beautiful collage card or making your child a toy from scratch. Secondly, you’re showing the person you’re giving the gift to that you really care about them (or if it’s for your child, that Santa really cares about them!). And last of all – you’ll save some money if you are careful and considered when it comes to choosing your material and tools!

Book in Advance

Christmas time will often see a considerable spike in the cost of travel and accommodation. Flight prices and hotel bookings skyrocket this time of year. Save yourself some money and the headache of looking at all those inflated prices by booking your trip away much earlier than December! If you live in a rural, regional or coastal area and are headed interstate or to the big smoke for Christmas you could consider …

Renting Your Home as a Holiday House

You can give your holiday income a much-needed injection by doing this. If you live in a secluded or coastal area and are heading away from your home for the holidays – why not rent it to a family who is looking for a getaway of their own? Rental prices for holiday homes can be quite lucrative for property owners! Take advantage of this over the Christmas break if you’ll be leaving the place vacant for a week or more.

Save Early!

Start saving at the start of the year so you won’t break the bank at Christmas time!

Can you think of any other tips to help save you some much needed money come the summer holidays?