Don’t forget to budget for all the different elements of Christmas – the food, travel, parties and gifts. Think like Santa and make a gift list – this way you’ll avoid overbuying and duplications.

 

Ease off the Afterpay

Sorted’s Tom Hartmann advises only using Afterpay if you need to, and only for one big item at a time. He says too many items on Afterpay makes it hard to juggle payments and this can be made worse if something unexpected happens that blows your budget.

If you do find yourself using Afterpay, set reminders on your phone for payments to make sure you avoid the late payment fees.

If you find it just too easy to overspend on cards, use cash for your Christmas shopping.  Sometimes it’s easier for our brains to grasp what we’re spending.

 

Use reward and loyalty points

If you’ve got some lying around, now could be the time to put those reward and loyalty points to work. And after Christmas plan to start building up your points to help with the Christmas finances next year.

 

Start shopping early

We all know that smug someone who has all their Christmas shopping done by mid-November. Be them. Make the most of the Black Friday sales and other sales throughout the year to help avoid last minute budget blowouts.  

 

Do Christmas your way

Don’t let FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) leave your Christmas budget in the red. Buy what you can afford and don’t fall into the trap of trying to match others.

Speaking of you – avoid buying things for yourself while you’re Christmas shopping. Save it for after Christmas if the budget allows.  

 

Cull the gift list

Do you need to buy for everyone on your list, or is this just the lazy option? Could homemade biscuits, or a donation of your time for babysitting or dog walking work just as well instead?

 

Go budget on the Christmas dinner

There’s nothing wrong with using home brand ingredients in your Christmas dinner to help you stick to your food budget. It’s also great advice to have one or two ‘hero’ dishes that are impressive and then and go simple with the rest, saving you time, stress, and dollars.

 

Use Secret Santa for the extended family

Have a discussion with your wider family about expectations at Christmas. Would people be happy to run a Secret Santa instead of buying a gift for everyone who’s turning up on Christmas day? This way everyone buys just one present up to an agreed limit, designated to be from everyone. They then give it to the person they’re allocated. Websites like drawnames.co.nz can make this super easy.

 

Get ready for next year

Why not set up an account now that you can squirrel a small amount of money away into each month to help prepare for next Christmas? It’ll feel great to be ahead of the game.

 

Written by:

Sonia Speedy

Sonia Speedy has been a journalist for over 20 years, working in newspapers, magazines and radio. She also runs an online platform for parents at familytimes.co.nz. She lives on the Kāpiti Coast with her young family and loves writing stories that help make people's lives easier.