The Christmas season should be a time filled with celebration and joy but it can also be a stressful time financially.
As restrictions ease across all states and territories, spending is expected to skyrocket. Those who have been in lockdown are now able to travel interstate, dine in restaurants and visit shopping centres. Many Aussies have already felt the impact on their wallets!
So how can you prepare yourself financially for the holiday season?
Know your Christmas budget
It’s important to plan for the Christmas season with a budget in place. It can be easy to overspend when you don’t have a financial plan. Take into account money to spend on restaurant visits, travel, presents, food and decorations.
Make sure your everyday essential spending is covered and then look at what you can afford to contribute to additional Christmas spending.
Review your expenses
If you don’t have enough room in your budget for additional spending, think about what you can cut down on to reduce the stress of Christmas spending. You might want to review your subscriptions, memberships or direct debits and think about what you can cancel that won’t have a major impact.
Track your spending
Now that you’ve made your budget, you need to stick to it. Remember to track your expenses as you go. This way, you won’t be in a position where you are overspending and causing problems for the next month’s budget. You want to be starting 2022 feeling confident in your finances rather than having a financial hangover!
Open a Christmas NOW account
If you continue to feel stressed every year when December rolls around, it may be worthwhile starting a Christmas savings account now for 2022. You will be saving your future self a lot of time and stress next year.
We offer NOW accounts that are perfect for Christmas savings. Earn 3.25% p.a. interest and all you need to do is give us 31 days notice when you’re ready to withdraw next year.
Click here to learn more about APS Savings.