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How to control your Christmas spending.

  • suerabycounsellor
  • Nov 26, 2024
  • 2 min read

Updated: Nov 29, 2024

There is a tendency to ignore common sense at Christmas. Life has probably been full of sensibility, and restrictions and when to put the heating on.


So the phrase " oh go on, it is Christmas after all" is the phrase we use and it means - it doesn't matter.


The reality is that YES, it does matter. The credit card will have to be paid off, the money in January will be sparse. Remember back to last January, every day in last January. Ask yourself - was all the " it doesn't matter" worth it? And unless you can answer that honestly - Christmas spending will always be in control of you, not you in control of Christmas money.


Now I am a smart arse. In the years when I had very little money I couldn't save up. I would recycle, carefully, the children's unopened birthday presents, or scout the car boots for the toys they wanted. It was second hand or not at all.


As more money came in, I would put some aside each month. Now I have a savings club and a credit card. The credit card is on 0% and I buy when I see something suitable, knowing that in December the savings club will pay out and I WILL pay the balance off IN FULL. Knowing how much will come to me in December means I have a ready made final figure.


The reality is - if you want to stay away from debt and the painful, dark worried nights that follow an overspend, three things need to be in place.


1) The ability to say NO to yourself and those you love. No we cannot afford a turkey but we can do lots of pigs in blankets.

2) The knowledge of how much you have to spend.

3) The wherewithal to know that Christmas is about love, and thought. Not what is in the wrapper. You and your decisions are good enough, without any of the trimmings.



 
 
 

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