How to Financially Survive Christmas 2019?
Does the 5th of January every year seem like the 45 of January? 5 January 2020 can be different if you follow these simple guidelines
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1.Download my Christmas Budget Planner, click here to download.
a.Plan your December Budget
b.Take control of your money
c.Budget for gifts, meals, parties etc
i.Budget for each individual early
ii.Start shopping for those gifts now
d.Don’t go overboard, the new school year starts in mid Jan
2.Buy Grocery Coupons in Advance
a. All leading grocers sell gift cards, buy these in advance
d.Absorb a 10-15% of the voucher price into your current months budget
3.Do not set foot in a mall in December
a.It’s the holiday season and retailers have the highest traffic and sales during this time of the year. With that said, it’s the best time for them to crank up Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” and flaunt their so-called “once-in-a-lifetime” deals – just to get you to spend.“Buy one get one free!” – free?? who doesn’t like free? (although that’s really just 50% off each item, so no… nothin’ was for free, guys!) “Original price at R1000. Now save 60% off!” – Oh, it’s only R400 now?
It’s not surprising that most of us fall for this anchoring effect.
For those who don’t know, behavioraleconomics.com explains that “anchoring is a particular form of priming effect whereby initial exposure to a number serves as a reference point and influences subsequent judgments about value. The process usually occurs without our awareness (Tversky & Kahneman, 1974).”For example, when the “original price” is marked up to R300, and then crossed out to be “on sale” for R190, our mind is using R300 as the anchor (i.e. benchmark) price. In this case, R190 might have been the retailer’s true original price, but because they want you to think you scored a deal, they mark it up to R300.In this article post “Bagged a bargain or been anchored?” Joseph Devlin says:
“Every time you buy an item “on sale”, you experience anchoring. The original price influences your expectations so the percent discount feels like a real bargain. And despite the fact that I have been teaching psychology for nearly 20 years, you’ve already heard how I fell for it.”
3.Buy Christmas presents in November
a.Hand-made Christmas Gifts
b.Soap
c.Candles
d.Bath salts
e.Chocolate/ Biscuits
4.Get paid to shop
i.Snap and Save. Find out more about South Africa's coupon app, reade my. blog on how you can shop once and get cash back X4 [Read more]
5.Save every month in a 32 day accounts
a.Save an extra R1000pm only give notice on 10 December
b.Use the funds to carry you through to January
5.The price of meat & food spikes around the holidays
a.Plan your holiday parties and menus early
b.Buy items in the months leading up to the holidays
6.Crowd funding gifts for kids
a.Ask family to give you cash instead of gifts
b. Set-up a Tax-free investment for your kids. All of these funds can be placed offshore and no taxes will be charged on the profits. Schedule a consult with me and I can assist you, click here
c.Your kids will see their value when they get older
d.Buy a toy now or buy a car when they are 18?
7.Planning ahead for next Christmas is best done once this Christmas is done and dusted. Some simple steps are to start saving now. Open a high interest savings account in January and contribute a small amount to it every week or fortnight. Saving R200 per week will add up to over R10,000 in a year’s time.
Shop for Christmas items and presents throughout the year, especially during post season sales as it means you get some bargains and will spread your costs out to make them more manageable.
Yolanda Rose Haripersad
Wife, Mother, Entrepreneur, Wealth Coach
Host of the Wealth Nation Podcast
Schedule a complimentary Financially Coaching session with Yolanda, Click here