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Written by Chelsea Petersen
Christmas time can be rough on your bank account. With all the extra expenses straining your finances, the holiday of fun and remembering blessings can become a nightmare instead. This is especially true if you’re already in debt. In this case, preparing for Christmas can be difficult, as the increase in spending can send you even further into debt. It is, however, possible to prevent this, and still be able to enjoy the Christmas spirit. It just takes a bit of planning:
First, write down all the Christmas-related things you plan to spend money on, this may include cards, meals, travel, and decorations. For gifts, also include a list of everyone who will be receiving a gift. Once your list is done, prioritise! If money is tight, you won’t be able to cover everything on the list, so choose what’s most important. Prioritise your list into different groups: “need”, which covers the bare essentials, “want”, which aren’t strictly necessary but are standard for you or you really want to do, and “would be nice”, which are unnecessary extras. Obviously, money will limit your priorities, so once you have your lists, you need to budget. Don’t think about how much you will need to cover your priorities, but rather how much you will have available, then make that your maximum spend.
Once you’ve cut out unnecessary expenses, look at cutting down on the one’s you do have. For example, make gifts, cards, decoration, and certain foods, instead of buying them. Just because you have made allowances for them, it doesn’t mean you need to splurge. Click here for ideas on little things you can do to save on Christmas. It’s important to save money wherever possible so you will still be able to pay off your current debt, and not create more. Even once your Christmas list has been prioritised, the expense can still feel overwhelming on top of your current debt. In this case, look into applying for debt review to cover your debt. This is a good option as you will no longer be paying off multiple debts with varying interest rates. If you aren’t in significant but your finances are severely strained, you may feel more comfortable taking out a personal loan to help you through the holiday.
