Santa-mental? Make your cash go fir-ther
WITH THE FESTIVE SEASON ONLY TWO MONTHS AWAY, THE EXPERTS SAY IT’S TIME TO PLAN AND MINIMISE THE FINANCIAL IMPACT
KEEPING a tighter than ever budget has emerged as the key aim for for shoppers starting to plan for Christmas, with just over nine weeks to sort the festive season.
Many households have been hit hard during the pandemic and will be forced to closely examine their spending habits to ensure they can have an enjoyable festive period.
New analysis commissioned by financial services firm Canstar quizzed more than 1000 Australians and found the following:
• 35 per cent plan to have a more low-key event this year by spending less on food, travel and spending.
• 26 per cent will try to keep this Christmas as normal as possible by spending similar amounts as previous years.
• Only 4 per cent plan to have a more extravagant Christmas.
Here’s our experts tips on how to minimise the financial impact this year:
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1. SELL ITEMS AROUND THE HOME
Latest research from second-hand site Gumtree shows Australians could make an average of $5800 by selling unwanted items.
Canstar’s expert-at-large Effie Zahos says this is one of the easiest ways to make quick cash.
“Have a look around and get each family member to pull out at least three things that they think they don’t need any more and could sell and would be appealing to put on eBay or Gumtree,” she says.
“It’s very simple to find some cash around your home to make some money.”
2. START PLANNING
Tribeca Financial’s chief executive officer Ryan Watson says it’s important to have a plan of attack mapped out to minimise the impact on your hip pocket.
“Planning out how much you are going to spend on presents to each family member and your friends is a great way to end up with more money in your pocket at the end of the silly season,” he says.
“Automatically putting some money aside into an ‘out of sight, out if mind’ account says on a weekly basis is a great way to subtly save for those big ticket item purchases.”
Also, working out with family and friends what your spending plans are around lunches, dinners and amount sets realistic expectations early.
And decide how much money you plan to stash: – putting $50 a week aside now will result in $500 by Christmas time.
3. SACRIFICE AN EXPENSE
Giving up a regular expense in the weeks remaining before Christmas can also be an easy way to mount up savings Zahos says.
“See the windfall that comes with giving up, for instance, a regular pizza night on a Friday night,” she says.
“It’s only short-term because it’s hard to sustain n this, so it’s a case of giving this a miss now. It’s discipline now and splurge later – there’s only two ways you can get money ney and that’s by either earning g more or spending less.”
4. USE DEBIT NOT CREDIT
When it comes to spending up ahead of Christmas, Watson says s it pays to stick with using debit bit and avoiding racking up credit. redit.
“Wherever possible, people ople should always use their own wn money, from a debit or savings vings account,” he says.
“The key to being in charge arge of money is to only spend what you have and to not rely on credit.” During the pandemic Australians have e ditched more than 500,000 0 credit cards, as they shift away way from spending money people ple don’t have to spend.