Saving tips to give you a hustle-free Christmas

Under normal circumstances, the holidays can be a stressful time since there is often an expectation to create a picture-perfect Christmas which requires money. 

Due to hard economic times, this year, even the most enthusiastic Christmas planner is likely to feel overwhelmed with financial and social pressures.

Below are certain steps you can take to minimise Christmas stress and to keep your costs down.

1. Set holiday spending limit

Although the holiday is meant to be jolly, for many, Christmas can also be a very busy and stressful period. It is easy to get carried away during the festive season, to avoid this, tighten your budget as the high cost of living becomes difficult to tame.  Work out what you can afford and break it down from the most to the least important. 

Assign a budget to each item or event with a spending limit. Be frugal whether you are travelling upcountry or vacation have a budget and track your spending. You won’t be able to track your spending without a budget.

2. Buy strategically

Make a list of the things you want to purchase and be economical with it. Consult your list every time you are shopping and look up for potential holiday sales and offers this will help save some money and give your budget a little break. Another trick is to stock up in advance, this will help reduce the pressure of last-minute shopping which can be exhausting.

3. Food

Food prices at holiday destinations can be expensive and the price of most food usually shoots up during December. Try to plan your menus before you go on holiday, taking potentially expensive non-perishable items and frozen meat with you.

4. Organise party contributions

December is the biggest party month of the year. People throw parties for their colleagues, friends and family members in the spirit of giving and sharing. Do not be scared to talk money friends and family. 

If you are the one who would organize and fund these parties but you're unable to do that this year without support. Let your guests know that this year you should all contribute to food and drinks so that you're not the only one who is burdened by the bills.

5. Plan free or less expensive activities

This year you could also avoid extravagant activities like expensive vacations and dinners and out-of-town trips that might ruin your budget. Instead, think of fun activities that are either affordable or free like going to the park or dinner and game night at home. What matters is that you will spend time with the people you love so it's perfectly fine if you're not planning to splash a lot of money on holiday activities.

6. Be smart with a bonus

If you earn any additional money from a bonus or a check, don’t immediately plan how you’ll spend it. It’s important to pay ‘future you’ first, so it may be a good idea to contribute a little extra to your investments during this period. Take some time to consider where you can best allocate the extra funds – either to save you money, like paying off debt faster, or earn you money, like investing it in a retirement annuity or tax-free savings account.

7. Save for January

Overspending in December wouldn't be that much of an issue if January wasn't such an expensive month. In the spirit of making merry, people often forget that they still have to pay household accounts such as lights and water in the next year and will need to pay for other costs such as uniforms and school fees. Start setting money aside for all the additional start-of-the-year expenses early in the previous year.