Have a Blast and Make the Money Last
The air is filled with carols and the change in temperature and the bright lights are a giveaway that “gee wiz, it’s Christmas.” You probably have made your list and checked it twice. Christmas is a time when we have a blast, easily forgetting diets and budgets. With a little extra exercise, you will be able to shed the extra Christmas weight, but shedding that extra debt, may not be so easy.
However, since Christmas is for spreading love and good cheer, here are some tips on how to have a blast, while making your money last, and you can still achieve your exciting financial goals, next year.
If you want to give a gift that would melt the hearts of your loved ones, but not your pocket, creating and keeping within your December budget is key. So remember to account for the following:
• your monthly expenses;
• a prorated monthly amount of annual expenses, such as your car insurance, which is determined by dividing the annual cost by 12; and
• holiday expenses, such as parties and family festivities.
Here is a simple formula to calculate your budget:
Your Christmas Budget = December salary + Bonus – (Monthly expenses and savings + provisions for annual expenses).
Curb the Urge to Splurge
Now that you have determined your Christmas budget, here are some tips to help you to stick to it:
1. Make a Christmas gift list: In making your gift list for Christmas, detail gift options and the cost of each gift. This will help you to stay within budget. But, if you overspend on one gift, remember to curb the urge to splurge by spending less money on other gifts and taking advantage of discounts and special deals.
2. Use your debit card instead of your credit card: This allows you to spend only the money you have, without additional debt and the associated interest charges, if you are unable to payoff the credit card bill in full on/or before the due date. Therefore, only transfer the money you intend to spend on gifts into your expense account and take the debit card for your shopping spree. Knowing our accounts have a finite amount of money, will psychologically restrict our spending. A great account for having your spending spree money is your JMMB Ez Access Account; all point of sales transactions and a host of other transactions are now free.
3. Give monetary gift certificates: It may be more budget-friendly to contribute to the gift your loved ones really want, with a JMMB Gift Certificate. This could still be complemented with a small token such as a personalized card.
4. Give of your time: Your presence may be the best gift to some of your loved ones. Mariah Carey sang “Baby, all I want for Christmas is you,” and there may be a few persons in your life that feel that way about you. Show your loved ones how much they mean by finding exciting ways to spend time with them, even coming up with some budget-friendly memory creators together, and capturing those memories with photos. You can also share your time and talent with the less fortunate, in a cost effective way.
Tis the season to be jolly! So, what other creative ways can you think of to have a blast and still make your money last? When you exercise our tips, along with yours, you will have more money to put towards achieving your big dreams in the new year.
How much are you committed to saving this Christmas? Please give us a call at (876) 998-5662 or text the word CHRISTMAS to (876)822-5662 and we will share great options to help you save/invest towards having a prosperous new year.
Written by: Michelle Sinclair Doyley, Manager, Client Financial Education, JMMB Group