Budgeting Tips For The Festive Season

Special thanks to Bec Box for this weekly reminder suggestion!

Transcript

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Hey Team!

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This week, we're going to be talking to you

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about how to budget

during the festive season.

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Disclaimer we’re no financial adviser

but here are just some tips and tricks

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that we'll be using ourselves to help

save money

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make the most out of the presents

that we are buying for our loved ones

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this Christmas.

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So first one every single year, no

matter what, I always speak to my partner

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and ask, How much do you want

to spend on each other this year?

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Alessia and I have already done this

and we've agreed to a spending limit.

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And what that means is

sometimes when you love someone,

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you can go

and spend all your money on them.

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But we want to be respectful

of each other's finances

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and we've set a limit this year

so we won't spend more than $150 each.

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And that means we can buy something

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that's like similar value

so one person doesn't feel bad.

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So we recommend obviously

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speaking to your partner or whoever

it is in your life about this early.

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Just because people stop buying

Christmas presents as early as October.

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Yeah, something that I really like

to think about when purchasing gifts

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for the holiday season is thinking

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about what the person expects versus

what I can afford.

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So for example, say my mum said, I really,

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really want this

Coco Chanel perfume, right?

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But unfortunately I'm

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just not in the financial position

to buy the entire perfume out.

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Right. For her.

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I can say to her something along the lines

of I can't really afford the perfume

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right now, but I would love to put money

towards it as a Christmas gift for you.

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Yeah. So does this mean

you won't be getting my Tesla?

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I'm happy to put $150 towards it, but

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I can't really afford that right now.

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So we know that sometimes giving people

money can feel a little bit impersonal,

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but when there's a conversation around it

that tells the person,

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I want this to go towards

the thing that you really want,

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rather than buying them

something that they will never use

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or never see, the light of day again

is so much better.

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A third tip would be to do some research

and try and buy the presents earlier

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rather than later.

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Usually prices tend to skyrocket

the closer you get to Christmas.

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I definitely encourage you guys

to look at some of the Black Friday deals

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and see if you can get some presents

that are severely discounted.

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Doing your research is super important

because sometimes you can find the exact

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same thing just for a cheaper price

at a different store.

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Another reason

you want to start looking early

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is because whenever you shop last minute,

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that's when you're

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willing to compromise the most money

because the thought process is,

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Oh, I just need it.

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So you'll spend the extra 50 to $100

because you need it then.

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And then lastly, don't discount

how special and thoughtful

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handmade gifts are doing a DIY

project at home with a few things

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that you found at Kmart

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can sometimes mean so much more than

spending thousands of dollars on someone.

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I usually like to just take a little bit

more time with a card

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and write out like all the things I love

about the person

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and no matter what I give them in a gift

that is the main thing

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that people remember. People

remember what you said about them.

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So do something nice for someone that you

love this. Year and we hope this helps.

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If you have any other budgeting

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tips, share them in the comments below

because I'm sure everyone

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could make use of them.

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Have a great week, team.

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Holiday season is approaching and you know what that means…

Time for us to break the bank on cute little Christmas ornaments and spend our life savings buying Kris Kringle for our office workmates, gifts for our partners, parents, family, friends…. Oh and we can’t forget our cousins-brothers-uncles-daughter… 😅

Somehow the holiday that is supposed to bring so much joy, can sometimes drain the life (and $$) from us!

Not this year though…

This year, we have a plan!

Here are our top tips for how we budget during the festive season and still deliver killer gifts:

1. Speak to loved ones about ‘spending limits’ This helps to stop excessive spending and can be any limit you want! I’ve done small limits before of $50 and have gone up to $500. It just depends on you and the other person's financial situation at the time. Be transparent and honest when having this conversion to come to a sweet spot for both of you! Alessia and I do this every year to ensure one person isn’t spending too much more than the other. It stops that guilty feeling of “oh, they spent so much on me… my gift for them isn't even that good”. P.s. the smaller the budget the more creative you will need to get which encourages more thoughtful gifts!
   

2. Setting expectations If the ‘spending limits’ wouldn't work for you/your family, an alternative approach is this. Ask your loved ones for some gift options and see if you can find a middle ground between what they want and what you can afford. If they want something out of your budget, let them know you would love to put X amount of money towards that purchase, but can’t afford to get them the whole thing. Now you know the money you give them is going towards something they really want. Woohoo!
   

3. Don’t let guilt influence your purchases Before you walk into the shops, it’s good to have an idea of what you want to spend on each particular person you are buying for. Don’t cave into the inner talk about what you should get them based-off previous birthdays, and celebrations. Take the pressure off and just work with what you can afford right now!
   

4. Start early & do some planning! The closer you wait to start your shopping to Christmas the more stressed out you will be. That’s just a fact! It’s harder to find items and sizes you want, shops are packed with people, and items are marked up to be even more expensive than usual. If you know what you are looking for, shop around for the best priced deals and even order online. We recommend buying some gifts during the Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales. But be sure to do your research beforehand to make sure you are actually saving money (some brands increase their price during this ‘sale period’). If you leave things to the last minute that's when you are more willing to compromise and spend more money, so do your bank a favour and start earlyyyy.
   

5. Don’t underestimate the power of hand made gifts I think everyone would agree that thoughtful gifts are the best. If you don’t have any budget to work with, create a cute card from scratch and write something nice! It’s really that simple.

Let us know in the comments how you budget for the festive season!

Happy Holiday Shopping Team!! 🛍