Christmas is the time of the year when everyone wants to make the most of it. Individuals go the extra mile to make their loved ones feel welcome and comfortable. It is the reason they spend nearly 70% of their savings on arrangements and Christmas decorations.
Thus, whether you are the type of person who buys a gift for nearly every person including the pet, finances may drop. However, you can bounce back from the temporary financial setback after Christmas celebrations without worries.
If you have tried hard to put everything in place, but something goes missing, the blog may help you. It lists some best ways to control spending and boost savings again.
6 Best Ways to re-track finances after Christmas
With soaring inflation, it’s high time to trace the finances back after the well-spent Christmas. The costs of the utilities are high with income nearly remaining static or low. It could seem overwhelming in the beginning, but eventually, you can improve your financial standing.
Thus, after Christmas, analyse your finances and the savings. The following tips may help you begin with financial improvement process.
1) Analyse and Pay the Credit card dues
On average, Brits spend around £342 on credit card purchases. It is apart from the monthly spending or bill payments through credit cards. Christmas is the most expected occasion that calls for spending a little more above the threshold. However, credit cards are high-interest debts. Buying something on a credit cards is costly than buying it outright.
Thus, the first thing to re-track finances is–paying credit card dues. Analyse the total bill payment including the past credit card debt (if any). Try to clear this with your next salary credit. It would optimise your credit score.
Moreover, to encounter any short-term critical need, check fast loans in Ireland’s marketplace. Apart from being pocket-friendly, they are a convenient way to finance any requirement. Sometimes, your credit cards don’t work. However, with short-term loans, you can eliminate that possibility. It credits to your account within 15 minutes. It is smooth, fast and the best way to finance requirements.
2) Have a frugal week/ month
The next thing to do is prepare for a frugal or no-spending month. It would help you analyse expenses and analyse the amount you must save this month. A no-spending month is one of the best ways to recover from overspending. It concentrates your expenses only on important ones. Precisely, it gives you an idea about aspects to cut the costs. You can start your frugal month by:
- Resorting to home-made food instead of canteen ones
- Cut fancy dinners for a month
- Avoid buying clothes/apparel for a month now
- Cut on unnecessary subscriptions or downsize the plan
- Identify alternative ways to save on electricity and water expenses
- Limit the use of credit cards
3) Try to earn extra cash
Once you adjust your monthly budget and save money, switch the focus to earning more money. You can earn through different part-time and full-time means like- filling up surveys, rating a product, quick cake tasting, and affiliate marketing.
Earning more bucks would help you save towards your new life goals from scratch. It grants the flexibility to deal with other aspects like debt management more comfortably.
The best part is – you do not have to go out to earn every time. Instead, you can spot a million jobs you can do from the comfort of your home. It would not only grant peace but also the security to meet your urgent or emergency requirements without a flaw.
4) Return “impulse buy” products
It is natural to fall for discounts on Christmas. Individuals want to have the best preparation to greet their guests and relish the occasion well. However, one often buys some products without realising the requirement later. If you have packed products you do not need, check the return validity. If there is still time, return the product with immediate effect.
Likewise, identify more products you purchased at the festive time but do not need. If they share the return validity, you can get the cashback for the purchased items. It would help you use the money on time-sensitive requirements instead.
5) Walk by a strict budget
Budget is a financial parameter that decides and helps you save enough for the next big move. Moreover, it also helps with maintaining routine expenses.
After Christmas and New Year celebrations, it’s high time to budget up well. No, just a no-spending month would not help you ensure consistent savings. But with budgeting, you can achieve that.
Identify the total earnings and your constant liabilities. It may include rent, utility payments, child expenses, premiums, repayments, credit card payments, etc. Calculate the total amount you must save for these payments only. Subtract that from the prime income, you will get the savings.
Out of this, you can either save the complete amount or invest some potentially for high returns. For example, you can invest the money in a high-yield savings account, retirement fund, emergency fund or as a deposit for a car or mortgage. What you should do with the savings depends only on your life goals. However, whatever you decide, budgeting helps you reach them timely.
6) Begin planning for next Christmas
Nearly every individual has a Christmas wish list that he wants to achieve. However, financial circumstances, income drop or sudden emergencies impact the dream a bit. Thus, individuals end up with aspirations and regrets of the wishful Christmas.
You can avoid regrets by planning for the occasion ahead. Yes, you can do so by setting up a separate account for Christmas celebration savings. It would help you plan Christmas and rationalise it the way you want.
Plan the budget you need, the things you want to do, and the gift expenses at the new year start. It would help you decide and strategise the things to do according to the priority. Break Christmas celebration goals into small chunks. It would then not seem overwhelming or challenging to achieve. However, if you dedicate some amount to Christmas savings as usual but an emergency crops up, contact private lenders in Ireland’s marketplace. They will help you get immediate assistance to finance emergencies without hampering your Christmas savings goals.
Bottom line
Are you feeling exhausted after a well-spent Christmas? Well, now is the time to re-trace finance and pull the noose. Most individuals struggle to begin with money management post-Christmas. They find it overwhelming. However, with these tips, you can achieve financial stability and achieve your next big life goals without impact.
Caleb works as a senior content writer at Financealoan for the past 3 years. He is a writing enthusiast and invests a good time in exploring and writing about financial trends. His keenness in exploring a topic to create a research-based piece is simply unmatched. He believes in including a texture of authenticity with real-time examples and facts.
Caleb’s blogs and articles reveal deep-seated knowledge and expertise. His educational qualification forms the base of his excellent command over the industry and Jargon. He is a postgraduate in Finance and is currently involved in exploring the world of the stock market.
