It is usually a moment of merriment, a time to socialize with family, friends, and loved ones. Gifts, decorations, nights out and much more are all part of the festive period. To make it lively and enjoyable, it requires money.
However, in light of the harsh economic condition of the country, many will have to make this year’s celebrations on a budget that fits into their modest financial capacity.
With a sprinkling of smart budget decisions and a dash of creativity, you can have a memorable Christmas celebration.
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Daily Trust highlights five ways you could spend your yuletide holdiays on a lean budget.
Plan Ahead
Celebrating the festive period on a lean budget involves planning ahead. If you need extra money, there may be the need to consider cutting back on a few luxuries to make room for more important things.
When you plan ahead on how you want to spend your Christmas and New Year, you get to cut down on impulsive spending that could be beyond your financial capacity.
Planning ahead also makes you consider your finances and ensure that you are not getting things or doing things out of impulse.
Buy locally-made products
Your choice of products, whether clothing, gifts or decoration materials, matters a lot in the cause of your spending.
Usually, foreign-made goods tend to be more expensive due to import duties and other factors, even if they have the same quality as locally-made ones.
Choose products that are cheaper but of good quality to celebrate your festive period.
Prioritise your purchases
When you are celebrating the festive period on a small budget, you are most likely not going to be able to fulfill absolutely everything in your ideal festive list. So you may have to pen down what is really important to you this year.
Writing down the items you need from the most important to the least important, helps you navigate your spending with a lot of ease and minimal tension.
Cook at home
When you operate on a small budget for festive period, how you get your food also matters. The idea of eating out should be jettisoned as it is usually not cost-friendly. The price of eating out tends to be on the high side, especially when compared to cooking at home.
Buying foodstuff and cooking at home go a long way to minimizing your spending.
Prioritize the memories
Instead of being obsessed over material things to have during the celebration period, it can be more fulfilling to concentrate more on the memories that will be created.
This is usually achieved through the quality time spent with family and loved ones, as well as the feelings and bonds shared and created.
Visiting friends and relatives in their homes, or feasting and playing with children at home, can offer the same or better bonding than going to parks or other recreational centres.
