The holiday season is a time of joy, celebration, and, typically, increased spending. To guarantee that your holiday pleasure does not turn into financial worry, you must handle your funds prudently.
Ester Ochse, FNB’s product head for integrated advice, offers 4 wise financial strategies to help you handle the holiday season with ease, allowing you to enjoy the festivities without stressing about your budget.
These strategies will help you stay financially aware and stress-free, from creating an effective budget to taking advantage of seasonal offers.
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Create a budget and manage your spending
The temptation to splurge thanks to that early December salary, bonus, or thirteenth check is understandable. You’ve worked hard all year, after all. However, Ochse cautions, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. That’s why budgeting (or lack thereof) can mean the difference between truly enjoying a carefree holiday season and massive financial headaches when the New Year comes around.
Having a budget in place and ensuring that you allocate spending for different priorities during this season doesn’t mean that you can’t have fun. Instead, it means that by planning and controlling your spending, you’ll have exactly enough for every activity you want to engage in between now and your next payday.
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Spend and earn with loyalty rewards programs
Loyalty reward programs may just be the magic weapon in your holiday season arsenal. They can often be a saving grace as you try to scale back on your spending while potentially putting back hundreds, or even thousands, of rands into your pockets.”
For example, FNB eBucks has partnered with a range of retailers and lifestyle brands like Pick n Pay, Clicks, Takealot, ARC, Engen, and MTBeds to make festive season essentials (from groceries to holiday accommodation and refilling fuel) more affordable while also enabling qualifying customers to earn even more back in eBucks for their spend.”
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Set spending limits for gifts and make the thought really count
As big days like Christmas and New Year’s approach, it may be easy to succumb to the pressure of spending on elaborate gifts. And, if you have a large community of family and friends, that pressure multiplies by the number of people you need to give presents to.
“A great strategy is to agree with your loved ones on a price limit for gifts and opt for a gift exchange like Secret Santa. This way, everyone receives a gift, and everyone spends a roughly equal value when sourcing these presents,” says Ochse.
Additionally, it’s important to remember that taking the time to make personalized DIY presents for your loved ones can have a lasting impact. “It’s the thought that counts. A well-thought-out, creative, homemade gift may end up being more meaningful to the recipient while also being easier on the pockets of the gift-giver,” says Ochse.
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Opt for at-home get-togethers and bring-and-brais
Thankfully, for many South Africans, spending time at home during the holidays is part of the course. And, with the spirit of sharing being important in this season, regardless of whether you’re at the beach or in the bush, assigning responsibility for certain elements of catering, in the form of a potluck, can make for a more intimate and fun session while relieving the host of the burden of catering for big groups.
“While it’s important to let our hair down during the holiday season, one can never be too careful in ensuring that they employ as many smart strategies to stretch their money and ensure it lasts all the way through December and until the next payday at the end of January,” concludes Ochse.
