Is It Too Early To Plan For Next Christmas – 5 Things You Must Do Now
Many people still have their lights strung around the house or boxes of baubles sitting waiting to go back into storage.
But does that mean that we shouldn’t be thinking about Christmas anymore? Yes, the constant use of Christmas songs from November call be a bit wearing, so we’re not suggesting to listen to Noddy Holder every day, but preparing for next Christmas can save you so much hassle.
On the lead up to the holidays you often come across blogs helping you to save money at Christmas, and one of the most common pieces of advice is to start saving and buying early on in the year. Christmas can also be a time of year where people feel a lot of pressure to spend a lot of money and can often get themselves in debt.
#1 Clear the Slate
So the first point of call is to clear the slate following last Christmas. Look into how to consolidate credit card debt which will allow you to get any debt under control with one payment each month, plus just one interest rate to think about. Once you have balanced out your debt or got it under control, it’s time to get Christmas 2018 ready.
#2 Set a Budget
Start by working out how much Christmas usually costs you and how much money you would need to save each month to get that amount.
It’s a lot easier to put aside a small amount each month than to find the whole amount over a couple of months. Open up a high-interest savings account that is solely for your Christmas savings.
#3 Get the Early Sales
Over January you get the yearly sales. But a lot of people don’t really realize that the sale numbers are often the original prices, and the companies just put the costs up on the lead up to Christmas.
To get the best sale prices, wait until after the first couple of weeks, and you will see the sale go from 50% to 70% off. This is the perfect time of year to get all your decorations and Christmas themed things.
#4 Consider Gift Buying Year Round
Throughout the year, keep an eye out for presents for your loved ones. When birthday shopping for someone, if you see some extra things that don’t fit into your birthday budget, then get it for them for Christmas.
Shopping throughout the year will allow you to shop in the seasonal sales. You quite often get socks and jumpers for Christmas as winter wear is in every shop, but what about the rest of the year when you don’t want to wear polar bear socks and snowflake jumpers? By shopping year round you can buy a range of things for your loved ones.
#5 Consider the Food
When it comes to food, you can’t do much more than putting the money aside for the weeks running up to Christmas.
But you can, as it gets closer to the time, order your food early with a supermarket, to avoid to a backlog of Christmas orders, and there are many things you can buy a month ahead for your freezer.
So what are you doing to plan for Christmas next year? Share your thoughts and comments below.
Cheers!