How to deal with your Christmas Financial Hangover
G’day guys,
Andre here from Acclaim Wealth Solutions, and today I’d like to talk to you about the inevitable Financial Hangover that you’re going to have this Christmas. You know the one…
The one where you had too much festive cheer and then a few weeks later you get the festive credit card in the mail.
Or maybe it’s the one that you had too much Christmas pudding but instead of Christmas pudding you had too much of a Christmas spending binge.
Sound Familiar?
Well, today I’m going to give you one of those hangover tablets to help you with your post-Christmas hangover, so stick around and have some fun.
So we’re coming up to that time of year again, Christmas is nearly here…. New Years is just around the corner and we’re already starting to dread what happens every single year at this same time … the aftermath of what has been another excessively expensive festive season!
Too much wine … too much food but more importantly too much spending and over-indulgence over that Christmas season.
And of course, at some point you’re going to have to pay for that over-indulgence whether it be having to go to the gym, or walking that extra mile to get rid of those extra kilo’s or the other way is you’re going to have to repay your maxed-out credit cards and replenish your drained bank account.
Have you ever had a Christmas and new year period feeling like that before? I’m sure you have. Most of us have!
So, one of the things that we do with our clients here at Acclaim Wealth is that we map out a plan of action to deal with the Christmas onslaught – rather than trying to fix it afterwards.
Now I’m not saying that you have to be the Christmas Grinch or make your festive season any less fun and less memorable but with just a few simple tweaks and a little bit of planning it will make your life more manageable and less stressful and you can enjoy Christmas the way you’re supposed to.
So there’s 3 big concepts that we talk about with our clients in the lead up to the Christmas spending season. I am going to use some Christmas analogies to have a bit of fun
My First Tip is to PLAN AHEAD
So what does planning ahead mean?
Just like when you’re ordering your Christmas banquet – your big leg of ham, your seafood, prawns, Christmas pudding… you need to plan ahead right? Because you can’t just turn up Christmas day and expect to have these things magically appear on the table ready for everyone …
Drinks and food – you could be buying those up during the year and either storing them or freezing them so that they are not bought in one lump sum
Presents & decorations – instead of going to the shops 2 weeks before Christmas, like everyone else does and paying 30-40% more, you could actually buy these in June or July when no-one else is buying these and the costs are lower, so it helps you spread the cost over the course of the year rather than having that massive bill at Christmas.
So tip number 1 is to have a think about what you need to spend on and pre-purchase over the course of the year.
Tip number 2 – Be wise
Just like being wise to not have an excess of food, alcohol and festivities, it’s the same thing with random, unnecessary and often wasted gifts at this time of year.
Now Christmas is actually about giving and generosity… but have you ever asked your family “whether they need to actually spend all this money on gifts and “stuff”
So why not take the time over this Christmas break to talk as a family about what would be fair, reasonable and smart use of your money but at the same time stick with this Christmas giving spirit.
As an example, one of our client’s large extended family decided to put all of the adult’s names into a hat and draw one person’s name out of the hat. And that become the person that they purchased a Christmas and birthday gift for on behalf of the family.
Now their rule was that you need to spend up to $150 on that person – a decent & useful gift with some thought put into it. (This kept the costs down and reasonable for everyone and helped eliminate too much unnecessary overspending.)
So the second tip is to have a chat with your family – you might be surprised at how many people actually agree with this suggestion.
Tip number 3 is Pre-fund for your Christmas
What I mean by that is to set a little bit of money aside along the way so that you don’t have to try and find it all at the end.
And the way we often do that with our clients is that we put aside a set amount of money regularly into their offset account. There’s a twofold benefit to this.
The first benefit is that it forces you to save some money for this expensive time of the year.
And the second benefit is that it reduces the amount of interest that is being charged to your mortgage.
Now it may not sound like much… but if you were to do this every year over the term of your loan it adds up to significant savings that most people don’t normally think of or benefit from.
It is all about doing those little things and utilizing all the available opportunities to make your money work smarter for you.
If you implement these tips you’ll be ahead of the game rather than behind the 8 ball after Christmas. Secondly, your family will end up with quality Christmas gifts that they’ll use and like.
And you’ll also have your money working harder for you and chipping away at that home loan
And that is a sure-fire way to get over that Christmas hangover!
If you would like to know more about being smarter with your money or if you have any other wealth creation or debt reduction questions…
Just visit my website www.acfin.com.au and in there you will find a contact me section where you can ask me any question you like. It’s probably the easiest way to touch base with me.
Otherwise, hit the like and share button and type me a message and I’ll jump in and help.
Anyway, that’s it for this week’s Acclaim Insight. Have a Magic Christmas & New Year and let’s make next year even better & more successful for you.
Take care and be awesome