Little changes can set you up for Christmas

GETTING ahead of holiday spending this year can save financial stress in January, consumers are being told.

Recent data from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission ( ASIC) shows the average Australian will spend $ 1079 each on Christmas, while further research from lender SocietyOne suggests we will each spend $ 500 on presents alone, before factoring in costs like entertaining and travel.

Rather than waiting until early next year to deal with the pressure on the hip pocket, Society One spokeswoman Maria Loyez said it can pay to offset the spending ahead of time.

“There is a difference between planning and the actual spend for many people,” Ms Loyez said. “People tend to splurge a little on credit cards at that time of year.

“Those credit card bills land around the same time back- to - school fees and other costs come in and it’s financially stressful.”

Being sensible when planning is a good place to start the saving.

“Don’t be too optimistic, be realistic” Ms Loyez said. “Then look at the household budget to find some cash savings there to pay for what you will spend.”

Christmas presents can be bought in advance, with sale opportunities through the year.

“Buying something online in the country you need to send it to is a lot cheaper than buying it where you are and then posting it,” Ms Loyez said.

Taking stock of some financial loose ends in the budget can also offset upcoming expenditure.

“Combining home phone and broadband is an example of a small saving that can work. I have just done this and it means a saving of $ 30 a month,” Ms Loyez said. “Ring your utility provider and see if there are some deals that can be done now. If not, there are comparison websites to help find better deals.”

If the budget does fall by the wayside over the silly season, Ms Loyez suggests looking at alternative ways to consolidate debt, rather than putting it all on the credit card.

“Consider a personal loan, it will have around half the interest rate of an average credit card,” she said.

“If you already have a credit card balance you can consolidate that with a personal loan too.”

Harmony Domaille, a 31- yearold teacher from Brisbane, chose to consolidate multiple debts into a personal loan to save money and streamline her finances.

“I was working hard to pay off two credit cards and a personal loan at a really high interest rate of over 18 per cent,” Ms Domaille said.

“I wanted to find a quicker and more efficient way to pay off debt but found most banks unhelpful.”

Eventually she rolled her debts into a loan with a 12 per cent interest rate.

“It makes my fortnightly expenses seem less stressful as I am not having to keep an eye on three separate variable interest rates,” she said.

Families looking to get on the front foot for preChristmas savings can benefit from a few small tweaks to their lifestyle, says Ted Richards, director of business development at robo- investment firm Six Park.

“One of the easiest things to do is take 5 per cent off … your pay cheque and put it into a savings account,” Mr Richards said.

Another good method for saving is using what you’ve got, whether it is the food in the cupboard or your home space to entertain, he said.

“Having short- term savings goals like this can be a great way to start some new money habits that you may even be able to continue into 2018 ... every small change can make a difference.”