14 October 2020 | 5 - 8 min read

5 ways to survive the silly season without wreaking havoc on your bank balance

Man in a smartly dressed suit holds a Christmas gift in one hand and a credit card in the other.

When you hear the word ‘Christmas’, what is the first thought that comes to mind and why is E the correct answer?

Malls that are annoyingly full of shoppers and no parking
Mariah Carey singing “All I want for Christmas is you”
Steve from accounts pretending to be superman at last year’s office party
The broke January blues
All of the above

This is Velocity Club and so while sadly we can’t do much about A, B or C, we can do something about option D. So in today’s blog, we’re going to take a look at smart ways that you can control your spending during the silly season and avoid the dreaded Januworry depression.

1. Skip the gift and go for goals

Let’s be honest: Do we really need more stuff? So this Christmas, instead of giving family members more stuff, consider rather putting that money towards shared goals. That could be anything from paying off a chunk of your bond or credit card debt, or it could be saving towards an amazing family experience.

Arriving in January with less debt or no debt is a sure way to get the new year off to a flying start and beat the usual January blues!

And speaking of family experiences, children respond especially well to family time and experiences. So this year, why not give the kids something they won’t easily forget by giving them a memorable family experience? Plus, this will teach the kids the value of family time, shared experiences and memories, rather than things that they will outgrow anyway.

2. Donate your deeds

Chores and commitments. We all have them. And we all wish we could get a break from some of them.

This festive season, you could donate your time to a friend or family member to tick a chore off their To-Do list for that day.

After all, a chore that you don’t actually mind doing is no big deal to you, might be a chore that the other person dreads and procrastinates on for days. It could be something as small as picking the kids up from school or giving the house a quick vacuum.

It could even be in the form of free babysitting for a couple of hours.

Whatever it is, arranging a ‘To-Do List Exchange’ is a great way to give meaningfully to those around you, using only your time. And everyone gets something that they truly need and value.

Just be sure to make the process fair by putting in some guidelines, like time limitations so that nobody gets taken advantage of.

3. Write it down or rhyme it out

Sometimes, all we need are a few words of affirmation.

If you’re someone who enjoys writing or rhyming or both, then a really heartfelt written letter or poem of appreciation given to a friend or loved one in place of a physical gift, can make a much more sincere gift that is sure to be treasured.

4. Control your cards and limit budgets

Credit cards can be a convenient means to afford that gift in a squeeze, but you’ll still be left with debt that can feel overwhelming come the old ‘3 months of January’. So, if you must use a credit card over December, make sure it’s within planned budgets and for specific planned needs.

And for bonus points, make sure you can pay those purchases off at the end of the month.

5. Prioritise your priorities - not your parties

Christmas parties are fun. For a night.

And then comes the post-party blues the next morning when you wake up and groggily look at your phone. Then you see all the SMSes from all those semi-tipsy card swipes you did the night before and wonder how you are going to make it through the rest of the month.

If you’re into partying, that’s totally fine, but make sure that you budget with your financial priorities, can cope with your festive season social life. One way to do this is to be specific about which parties you are going to attend and how much you will allow yourself to spend so that you don’t lose track of your goals.

A trick here is to leave your cards at home and take the actual cash that you’ve budgeted towards that event. That way when your money is up, you can’t spend more.

Conclusion

The silly season is nearly here, but we want you to be smart about your spending so that you avoid the dreaded January financial depression. So when you think about gifts this year, think twice about just buying everyone more stuff. We’ve shown you some clever ways you can give meaningfully to your friends and your loved ones, while spending almost nothing.

If you want advice on how you can budget towards the December holidays or any other aspects of your finances, Velocity Club is here to help. Our highly skilled financial advisers will look at your specific circumstances and help you to make the right decisions that will get you on the path towards achieving your financial goals.

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