Christmas is coming! The holidays are coming around quicker than you can say ‘candy cane’ and people are beginning to look forward to their Christmas antics, but are you? One factor might be stopping you from getting caught up in the excitable commotion is the expense. Christmas is undoubtedly the most expensive season of the year – and the most stressful!
Christmas doesn’t have to break the bank though. If you find yourself a little low on funds near to Christmas this year, loans on the same day could be the perfect option for you. Applying for a same day loan is simple, and you could receive up to $1,000 in a matter of hours! Find out how you can make Christmas more affordable this year below:
Write a list
Before you step into the shops, make a list of everything you need to buy and a separate one for everything you’d like to buy. Prioritize buying what you need over buying what you’d like first to make sure your financial situation doesn’t hold you back from buying something you really need. If you have money left over, you can pick and choose the items on your ‘would like’ list.
Actually tell people what you’d like to receive. Avoid the phrase “I don’t know” when people ask you what you’d like for Christmas. Although you’re just being polite, your friends and family want to return the favor of buying them gifts and buying you presents in exchange. Consider what you need, but can’t afford to buy, and what you’d like (usually, this will be an item you wouldn’t normally purchase yourself) so you don’t have to worry about purchasing what you need in the lull after Christmas.
Save early
The earlier you begin to save, the less you’ll need to panic as the big day approaches. If you can’t start saving in January to recover from the previous month, you should start saving at least a couple of months in advance depending on what you plan on spending.
Plan a day to go Christmas shopping and avoid hitting the shops again to avoid making impulse purchases. This also helps you reduce your carbon footprint, so it’s a win-win situation.
Switch to LED lights
Christmas lights are just one cause of increased energy bills over the Christmas period. Did you know? The estimated electricity cost for the standard Christmas tree with lights left turned on for at least 12 hours a day for 40 days costs a minimum of $10. You can save up to $9.73, just by switching to LED lights.
Top tip: All of your Christmas tree and external Christmas lights should be on timers to avoid racking up a costly bill. If you forget to switch them off after a long day, no biggie! You won’t need to roll out of bed to turn them off.
Don’t panic buy
Year after year we panic buy at supermarkets because the shops will be closing… for a maximum of two to three days, so is there any need to overspend to stock up for our ‘what ifs’ and ‘buts’? No, there’s not. In 2015 it was revealed that more than 4.2 million Christmas dinners were wasted in the UK alone – including 740,000 slices of Christmas pudding, so it’s OK to put that extra pudding down.
So, now you know how you can make Christmas more affordable, it’s time to start making your lists and checking them twice. There’s only more than three months to go!
