5 Tips for a Debt-Free Christmas
by Katherine Hymer
All I want for Christmas is… NO DEBT!
Christmas is expensive. From the food, the gifts, the travel to visit all relatives from every part of town and don’t forget all the Christmas party events leading up to the actual day! These different events and expenses add up like a big Christmas snowball filled with heartache and despair.
But it doesn’t have to be this way! With these savvy Christmas money saving tips and ideas, aim to have a debt free Christmas this year so you can focus on enjoying time with loved ones.
1. Secret Santa
Secret Santa is a fantastic way to save spending little drips and drabs of money. Instead of buying a gift for every cousin, aunty, uncle, sister, brother, parent, dog, cat, grandparent, and neighbor, you can all unanimously agree to buy one gift for someone else.
Every gift giver picks another gift receiver’s name out of a hat and that’s the only person you are now getting a gift for! This ensures every person involved receives a gift – no exclusion! – and it helps to cut the costs of a potentially very expensive family get together.
Make sure to all agree on a maximum price limit for a gift so everyone is very clear on the amount that is appropriate for a gift.
2. Think outside of the Christmas box.
Create unique gifts and Christmas cards that don’t involve spending much or, anything at all! The power of arts and crafts should never be underestimated. Come up with creative gifts like writing poetry for your, agreeing on having your friend over for a home cooked dinner and wine, and one free massage voucher to your partner.
Gifts don’t have to be expensive! And in our age where everyone is so pressed for time, a great idea for a great could be setting aside a date to see one another.
3. You are NOT Mr. Scrooge for wanting to save money!
For those who are not familiar with Charles Dickens’ 1843 novel, A Christmas Carol, Scrooge is a fictional character who is notorious for not wanting to spend a cent of his piles and piles of gold at Christmas time.
The reality is, we do not all have piles and piles of gold to draw from to pay for everyone’s expensive Christmas wants. Some people fear that if they don’t spend obscene amounts on lavish gifts, then their friends and family will judge, ridicule or think less of them.
This is often NOT the case. Instead of worrying too much about trying to impress others, focus your attention on the health of bank account. I can assure you that your bank account won’t think any better of you if you spend too much!
4. Plan for what you’re going to buy.
Shopping centers are overwhelming. And it’s too easy to spend too much online shopping.
Before you even think about stepping into a shop or going online shopping, have a very clear idea of WHAT you will be buying. This will help avoid the dangers of browse shopping.
With browse shopping, you can wander around for hours in a store looking for a good gift and then eventually become so fed up that you get whatever item you see on the counter-top. Sure, it was $20.00 out of your budget, but that doesn’t matter, right? WRONG. Because for every $10.00 over here and $5.00 over there, this adds up! Next thing you know it and you have well and TRULY blown your budget.
As for online shopping, it is way too yes to click the ‘yes’ button to buy something. It may not seem like much damage has been done, but very quickly your bank account will drop.
5. Shop comparison sites.
Finally, why pay one price for something when you COULD get it for cheaper somewhere else? Shop comparison sites are a great resource to compare the prices of the same item to try and find the best deal and value for your money!
Here at Debt Recoveries Australia, we are all about the festive spirit. So we have gone ahead and selected a couple of trusted sites for you!
a) Google Shopping
b) Nextag
c) PriceGrabber
And there we have it! 5 useful tips you can use to help keep your bank account and Christmas spirit feeling merry! Let us know in the comment section what tip you are most likely to use OR most likely to recommend to someone you know!
Most importantly, please remember to be safe, and enjoy a happy festive season!
Debt Recoveries Australia is the expert at recovering your outstanding debts without the drama. For more information, email us at email@debtrecoveries.com.au or call 1300 799 511. Tell us your problems on Skype at “debtrecoveries”.