Home » Plan a frugal Christmas in Order to Avoid Debt

Plan a frugal Christmas in Order to Avoid Debt

Christmas is fun as you get to meet with all of your family members, friends and other loved ones. You get to party and enjoy your time as you’d like. However, the downside of Christmas is that you may end up in debt. Planning your Christmas is important as it can save you from the Christmas money hangover. Going frugal is the trick, but you need to do that subtly enough so that you do not miss the fun. It wouldn’t be any fun at all to follow up Christmas celebrations by getting collection calls a few weeks into the New Year? And opening that January credit card bill is no fun for most. Although, the answer to this would depend on the person you are and on your perspective, it cannot be denied that nobody likes being in debt.
Planning your frugal Christmas
It is high time that you plan as to how you are going to enjoy Christmas. This year, you need to plan a frugal Christmas so that you can avoid debt as much as possible. Some of the most important strategies you need to follow are:
1. Avoid spending most of the money on entertainment – It’s good to avoid spending too much during the Christmas on entertainment. Always stay within the level of your affordability and you would no more be required to worry about falling into debt. Why give away money simply on movies and dine outs? Rather, spend time with your loved ones simply cooking new dishes or making merry planning for the next year and so on.

2. Try DIY gift ideas and holiday decor – DIY gifts and decor are good not only because it can help you save money but also because your friends and relatives would love it. You can buy some basic stuff from the thrift stores and then go on to improve those. You can also work on the items which are already there in your home. For example, you can buy a simple mug and then design it your own way.

3. Look for the options that may help save on shopping – It is obvious that you will go shopping for the Christmas. However, you need to shop wise and comparison shop before buying a particular item. Look for discounts and make sure to visit different stores. Although, it can be a little time taxing, it will help save lots of money. Discuss with friends and relatives about what they have bought and what you are going to buy. This may help you gain some idea on which would be the better place for shopping.

4. Setup a separate frugal Christmas budget – If you already have been following a budget, make it a point to create a separate and new budget mainly for Christmas. This is going to help you stay within the level of your affordability. You can then plan your Christmas shopping based on this new budget and spend as per the budget.

5. Maintain a list of the everyday bills to avoid debt pileup – It is extremely important for you to maintain a list of the bills incurred during the Christmas season. This will help you in maintaining the debt payments and in becoming free of the bills incurred during Christmas.
Christmas or holiday debts can get so out of hand that they can linger all over the year and even beyond that. However, that does not mean you need to cancel your Christmas fun, but you will have to prioritize as to what is important. Make a plan to balance everything so that you can both enjoy your holidays and avoid debt at the same time.

Author Bio: Kane Clark is a financial writer. He loves to share his expertise on personal finance to help people who are undergoing severe financial hardship. Many of his articles have appeared on various high-authority websites, and he participates in various online financial communities as well as social media channels. If you like the article you may join this community on Facebook where he is associated with.

2 comments

  1. We do lots of handmade gifts, which really helps and I love doing it. I still have a lot of sewing to do in the next week, but that’s way better (and cheaper) than going out to crowded stores to spend money. For adults, I share some homemade jam and other edible treats (consumable means no gift clutter, too).

Comments are closed.