Last week I was talking to some colleagues at work about how no one seems to have money in January. There’s something about Christmas and New Year festivities that seem to drain the penny pinching out of all of us, not least myself. Even if we put together lofty plans about saving through the season, we are more likely than not to end up counting each painful day till pay day in January.
One of the most famous Christmas stories is A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, a tale about a miserly old man named Ebenezer Scrooge who after being confronted on his lack of generosity by 3 ghosts, dips into his deep pockets and spreads the wealth. Nobody, not even a finance blogger, wants to dampen the fun of the season by recommending an ascetic Christmas season. After all, you have worked for 12 grueling months and you need some entertainment to keep you sane. So in this post I am going to share realistic tips to at least try to ensure that the long month of January would be more bearable this time around.
The first tip is to pull some of the January pain into early December. You can do this by setting aside some money for the Christmas season early in the month and penny pinch all the way until late December when you pick the money and start the festivities. This way, you give yourself a better chance of not exhausting your funds before Christmas and avoid having to rely on your salary meant for January.
Another tip is to buy stuff early before they get inflated during the last weeks of December due to the high demand. Some people would consider this as an alternative to the first tip but truthfully, you would always want to have money on you even if you have already bought all you need for the season. Finding a balance between these two would be awesome. Buy stuff early but not too much stuff that you are left with no money when the festivities start.
Spend more time, spend less money. I have written before on this blog about fun not having to be expensive. About 80% of the fun of hanging out, at least for me, is the joy of talking and laughing with people I care about. I could sit in the fanciest restaurant alone and have the priciest thing on the menu and it would not be better than a cheap meal with a few friends. If you feel the same way, let that help you save some money.
Now I’m pretty sure people have their own ways of navigating the pitfalls of January but I like to share mine because I always appreciate the insight from someone else’s perspective. And therefore I like to start conversations. So if you have tips you would like to share about the holiday season, I would love to see them in the comments.
I have realised that it is impulse buying and mishaps that throws me off my financial plan. Any tips for for that?
With regards to January financial wahala, I prefer to buy in bulk and cook the festivities food myself to reduce the expenses.
Buying in bulk and cooking is a good plan. If you could put your money away until late December, that may check your impulse buying as you would have nothing to buy with. Merry Christmas!
For me it’s all about budgeting. I don’t have monthly budgets but December alone has it’s own budget in my Wallet app. I prioritize what must be done in December (like sending items home, getting those I care about presents) and shift those that can be done in any other month. In other words, I see December as the month that I need to focus on myself less and focus more on those that I’ve probably neglected throughout the year. I feel less pressured to have any special fun or go for any extra-o shopping. I do that on the regular within budget all year round.