Newsletter
November 2017
While Christmas is fast upon us, there is plenty of time to make sure you don’t spend too much by doing some thorough planning before you rush out to spend. Each Australian is planning to spend over $600 (https://www.moneysmart.gov.au/tools-and-resources) on gifts and if this is paid for with credit cards, that can take up to 2 years to pay off. So here are our best tips for making this your most financially freeing Christmas ever!
- Get more sleep before making decisions on this. Nothing makes it harder than lack of sleep to be strong in your decision making, so click here for 5 quick tips on how to get more sleep
- Don’t impulse buy! Leaving the Christmas shopping to the last throws away all your good planning – think house first and pay it off!
- Put a limit on your spending. No, you don’t need to spend more – you won’t even remember and nor will the gift receiver in 12 months time, so just don’t do it!
- Buy low cost items first. If you spend up on the more expensive items first, your perspective can be reset for high amounts and make you less discerning to search for discounts. With retail stores suffering like they are, there are lots of bargains to be had. Look hard!
- Gift the promise of an experience, an IOU – a walk in the Botanic Gardens followed by coffee or wine! Most of us don’t need or want more stuff but would much prefer time spent doing something simple together
- Write thank you cards or letters to show family and friends how much they mean to you. This gift says far more than any items as it shows you spent the time thinking of them, and what they mean to you
- Gift cards – did you know that more often than not, these can be bought for a discount? Google which card you want to purchase – say Itunes for the children – and regularly you will find Officeworks or Australia Post or even BigW offer big discounts on the card you want to buy
- Buy second hand. One year my family set a limit of $20 for a Kris Kringle gift and many fabulous items were bought second hand which meant we got much better gifts than if we had bought everything new and it made us find more meaningful items
- Re-gifting – it is time to clear out all those items you don’t want or need and make room for better things in your life. Spark Joy, by Marie Kondo, is a great read on how to decide what to keep (and you can get it free on audible or from a library!)
- Sell your pre-loved items on EBay & get a discount voucher to spend on EBay – it’s a win/win!
