Budgeting for Christmas

| November 22, 2012

English: Gift ideas for men - wrapping paper e...

Budgeting for Christmas, ideally, can be done at the start of a New Year, with some money being put aside every week. Not everyone has that foresight, or can afford to do so at the time, but there are plenty of options available in making Christmas less of a financial burden.

What everyone can do several weeks to several months before Christmas is to make a list of people they intend to give presents to, and the type of food and drink they intend to buy. Also, the amount of Christmas cards that will be required, and how many will need to be posted is another major part of Christmas planning. Decorations are also a consideration, but to save money there’s no reason to get new ones if the decorations from previous years are still in good condition.

Along with decorations there are other ways that money can be saved. These include checking to see if there are any Christmas cards, wrapping paper and tags that were bought from last year but weren’t used.

Careful planning means that there is less chance that something important will be forgotten. You don’t, for instance, want to get good presents and then forget to buy wrapping paper and tags. There also needs to be consideration for not just the usual people you give presents, or cards to. You may have met a number of new friends and/or neighbours since the previous Christmas. In this case, you will need to decide what to do, regardless of whether you think that you are going to get a present or card in return.

You may intend to spend a certain amount of money on people who you like, but are not as close to as other family members or friends. Consequently, if what you intended to buy is available at half price, then there’s no need to buy another gift to try and match the value of the presents you initially had in mind.

If planning to buy items for Christmas via a credit card, then one that offers 0% on purchases over a year is a good choice. This type of card will allow you to spread your repayments, and has no interest added on top – if you keep up with the repayments. You will have to make a monthly minimum payment and repay all the balance before the 12 month period expires.

 

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Category: Budget

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