Preparing A Christmas Budget For This Upcoming Covid Christmas Season

Tips to Make it Through This Covid-Christmas Season

This year has been like no other anyone has experienced, due to Covid-19. Lockdowns, job losses, sickness and solitude. For many people, this year has been tough, preparing a Christmas budget is important.

But through all of that negativity, we have been stripped back to the basics. We have been gifted time to appreciate those “I’ll do that one-day’ wishes like gardening, learning a language or an instrument, reading, riding a bike and cooking.

Time away from loved ones has emphasised the importance of the relationships we have with family, neighbours and friends. Just when it looked like Christmas would be a lonely time for many, our borders will be open for Christmas. Such joyous news! We can come together with our loved ones and celebrate together.

Christmas 2020 is only 6 weeks away! Are you already preparing? It is right about now that I would normally talk about how I leave things until the last minute and spend too much money on gifts and food and end up with a huge debt once it is all over.

This year is different. I have learnt that it is not important how much money you spend on gifts, because I’ve learnt that the time we spend together is the real gift!

It’s early November and businesses are already getting ready for the upcoming Christmas season and so should you. Now is the perfect time to plan and work out how you are going to financially survive the festive season. Here are 8 tips to help your family survive and start 2021 on the right financial footing.

Prepare a Christmas Budget 

During this period, there are a lot of outgoings. Christmas day to presents to holidays and taking the family out to events and play dates, it can all add up very quickly! Now is a great time to sit down and plan a budget for it.

By setting aside funds now in November and early December with a Christmas Budget, you will have an additional buffer of finances for when mid-December comes across and those additional expenses come through.

Be realistic with your Christmas budget, taking into consideration everything that will occur including holidays, gifts, dinners out and daily outings. Make sure you don’t leave yourself tight at the end of the festive season. While you are planning your festive season activities, perhaps plan to cook for your friends instead of going out each time. They will love the effort you put in for them. You can ask everyone to put in for the ingredients which will be much cheaper than everyone paying for a meal out.

Plan your holidays and pay for them now

Christmas is a great opportunity to take some time from work, recharge the batteries and spend some quality family time together. You may have decided to take an interstate holiday for the upcoming festive season.

Now is the perfect time to plan your holiday and pre-pay some of those expenses. If you have any flights, travel or accommodation costs, pay for them now. That way, from a cashflow point of view, you won’t have to find these funds while you are trying to relax on your trip or when other expenses are coming out in December.

Hosting Christmas Day

We are the only members of our family who have kids, so the family comes to us on Christmas Day each year and I imagine that many of you would be the same. It’s a great time to celebrate with everyone, but don’t feel like you need to put on the whole spread of food and drink yourself.

Ask your family and friends to assist. The idea of purchasing the seafood, turkey, ham, salads and veggies, drinks, Christmas pudding, nibblies, decorations – it all adds up very quickly! This year more than any other, we are not expecting the full spread. This will be a quieter year for many, so don’t feel the need to over-cater for the masses.

You don’t want to be left with the same food to eat for the following 5 days either. Co-ordinate and get everyone to bring a dish or drinks along to the event, so they can share the burden and share the costs for the day. There is no shame is saying ‘bring a plate’, in fact in can help make everyone feel more included in the celebration. Sharing is caring, right.

Kris Kringle

Have you heard of ‘Kris Kringle’? I do this with the adult members of my family and it’s a great way to not blow your budget with purchasing gifts. Before you start, sit down and work out a Christmas budget, it may be $50-$100 per present, perhaps less this year, work out who is involved and then draw names out of a hat.

Each person buys a single gift for the name drawn. On Christmas Day, everyone hands out their presents to those respective people. It is a great way to not go overboard on your Christmas budget or become excessive with gift-giving and spending too much money.

Avoid paying for things on credit

Although using your credit card may be a convenient way of purchasing things in December during the festive season, there will come a time when it will need to be repaid. It’s important that you don’t start 2021 on the back foot, with having that debt outstanding from the Christmas period.

Set aside the funds now throughout November and early December to pay for the festive season using your savings. If you do use your credit card, make sure you pay the balance in full when it is due in January.

Turning off/Pausing direct debits

Many of us have had to do this at some point during 2020, but if you haven’t, now is the time. Start reviewing your ongoing direct debits/subscriptions that you currently have. Are there any services over the Christmas period that you will not be using?

For example, if you are going on holidays, pause your ongoing Gym Membership. This review can potentially save you hundreds of dollars over the holiday period.

Shopping for presents online

I enjoy walking through the shopping centres leading up to Christmas, with the bustling crowds and cheerful vibe. This year will be different with shopping centres needing to adhere to Covid-safe plans. So this year, consider jumping on the online shopping bandwagon. You can avoid the crowds and queues.

There is no chance of getting swept up in the buzz and walking out of the shops with more presents than you originally budgeted for. You can search for gifts that fit your budget and requirements. This will help you stick to your budget and avoid any buyer’s remorse! Of course, online shopping can be done at a time that suits you, from the comfort of your couch and without the kids pestering you for every second item they see on the shelves. A saving of your sanity at the same time – bonus!

Homemade gifts

The internet is full of DIY inspirations when it comes to gift ideas. Consider making gifts for your family and friends. Not only will they have sentimental value, they will also help you stick to your gift budget. This is also a great way to involve the kids and their creativity plus they feel ever so special giving gifts they have made.

Following these 8 tips will help you survive financially this festive season. If you have any other tips that you would like to share, we’d love to hear from you. You can email us at info@hfinance.com.au or please give us a call on 1300 928 227.

If you have any questions or would like a free consultation to talk about your finance needs, whether you are a First Home Buyer, considering refinancing or tapping into your equity to invest, please call your local Gold Coast Mortgage Broker, Kirstie Penton, for a coffee and a chat anytime on 0423 206 563.

hfinance is a mortgage brokering business – speak with a Sydney Mortgage Broker, Gold Coast Mortgage Broker or an Australian expat mortgage broker.