Christmas is a joyful time of the year. There are festivities, celebrations, and happiness, all around. Amid this happiness, many people are worried about getting into debt.
The cost of living during this time becomes expensive, including food, shopping, decoration, etc. Most of the people who still need to get the required money go for Christmas loans.
Borrowing is always easier than repaying. Some people can pay back their loans on time. But with increasing expenditures, many people cannot pay back and get stuck in debt.
Feel the festivity by being debt-free
With the pandemic fading away, people were now getting stabilized. But during the onset of the pandemic, there has been a major impact on the finances of different individuals.
Instead of availing yourself of debt, your focus should be on staying away from debt. If you have availed of Christmas loans on benefits for your festival celebration, try to pay them off on time to start the fresh new year of 2023.
Tips to stay away from Christmas debt
If you wish to celebrate your Christmas debt-free, the following tips are for you to follow and remember.
1. Plan a budget
If you are willing to cut down on your expenses, you have to plan a budget. For reference, check your last year's spending and saving. If you look at it, you can check with the areas to cut down and save.
Budgeting is a good technique that keeps your expenditures at the limit. It keeps on highlighting your excessive expenses that require immediate cut-down.
Take this measure to maintain your finances overall. Budgeting can be done through different applications and software.
The decision is entirely yours. Select some handy applications that can come on your mobile phone.
2. Stick to a price limit
There is no limit to buying gifts for your family and friends. But to cut down on your spending, you can set a limit for your family. For example, every year, if you get gifts for £50 for one member, you can cut short that limit to £30.
This will help you to save money on gift shopping. This decision can be mutual between you and your family.
Setting a limit is helpful as you already have a budget in mind. Do not exceed it. There can never be a limit to your expenses without setting a limit.
3. Multi-buy offers
Jump on to the offers provided by different retailers. 2 to 3 offers are going on for every product during Christmas.
You can check with the best one and go for it. Spending money without even comparing is easy as you do not have to apply your brain. But once you have spent money, it cannot come back.
Hence, to shell out less money from your pocket, it is important to get the best deal and save money on it.
4. Shop around for food and drink
Shopping for food and beverages can be the most expensive part of Christmas. Since most people are buying this, the prices automatically go up.
You can check the best prices given by the shopkeepers. Also, look for different offers at different places.
Sometimes the big supermarkets offer you discounts on these common products. Hence, check out these places as well to get good deals.
5. Look for discounts
Discount may sound music to ears. If you go shopping, always look for discounts, vouchers, and coupons. There may be many retailers who do not offer discounts on their products.
Avoid going to them and look for retailers offering good discounts. If there is a product available for £20 from one retailer, with a discount, you can get that product for £15.
£5 on one product is a good amount of money. If you see it as a collective amount, you may save a huge amount of money in your shopping.
6. Plan to pay off debt quickly
If you have availed of any debt, pay it off as soon as possible. It may not be a problem at the start, but as soon as time passes by, your debt can become the biggest hurdle of your life.
According to the research company, if people avail of loans at a lower interest rate, they become careless in paying off their debt. This causes procrastination in them, and they delay their payments.
This is not a good attitude to manage your finances. Getting into the debt cycle has many other repercussions. Many lenders will blocklist you for your future borrowing.
Also, it will impact your credit score in a bad way. For every individual, it is crucial to maintain a decent score to open up their borrowing chances in the future.
Along with this, you are being charged different fees by the lender. Post-Christmas, make that your priority if you spend money on other things.
On an immediate basis, work out your current finances and start paying your monthly payments. Gradually, it will reduce your debt burden, and you may be debt free.
- Look for ways to save money
If you have thought of saving money, you can easily make it. Money can be saved in smaller ways and can create a big impact. For example, avoid buying expensive stuff if you're going to the supermarket to shop.
Instead, you can look for budget alternatives. Especially in food items, you can cut down on your spending in several ways. The supermarkets have a technique to display their most expensive products in the top rows.
Avoid choosing products from these rows. Instead, look for the down rows. Additionally, look for price comparison websites. If you are getting one product for a specific amount on one website, you may get a good discount on the other website.
Try to check as many websites as possible. Go for the one that offers you the biggest discount.
8. Plan early for next year
You can pre-plan your festival in advance. Many people start planning it in January only. It is not a one-day job to save money and celebrate the best of Christmas.
It takes some time to get things at good discounts and of good quality too. If you wish to plan your Christmas for 2023, you can start working on it from January itself.
Conclusion
Getting into debt is always considered easier than coming out of it. People get stuck in debt, especially during Christmas time. Since everybody wants to celebrate it big, they avail loans for themselves.
Once they get these loans, they are not able to repay them due to the other recurring expenses.
Hence, it is important to manage your finances before availing yourself of any loans. Once you borrow a debt, focus on its repayment, and lead a debt-free life.
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