How to plan your finances after Christmas

Christmas spending in the UK is ballooning in size every year. UK shoppers will spend over £9bn in the four days up to Cyber Monday from online shopping alone according to the Forbes, with the full month of December full of bumper sales for retailers and brands. With massive sums of cash being spent on Christmas, it is easy to be lost in the festive fun without thinking about finances after the Christmas celebrations are over. In this guide, you are going to learn how to plan your finances after the Christmas season.

Try and have money left over after Christmas

British households will be spending £820 on Christmas, according to Finder.com. With bumper amounts like this being spent, it is easy to get carried away when it comes to your own finances. You need to think about how you will budget for the post-Christmas spending period that you will be living in. How much money will you need to pay gas & electric? Will you need money to buy food? You don’t want to end up without money after Christmas because life goes on. Try and have an emergency stash of cash that you put into a separate current account that you can use once Christmas is over. While you might be tempted to spend it on presents and food, keep it safely hidden so that you can have money for the New Year.

Avoid impulse shopping in January

The January sales can be tempting to take part in especially when you see everything from perfumes, clothing to cosmetics at bargain prices. However, if you have not budgeting for spending money in January, put your debit card away. Many people like shopping in December so that they can purchase gifts for family and friends. If you are a savvy shopper, you can spend less in January and plan your shopping for January so that you can find bargains.

Start saving for January

If you want to create a good financial base for yourself in the New Year, you need to start saving cash now for January. While it seems early, it is only a few weeks away and you will be happy you made the decision. Make small cuts or changes to your current spending and put that money away for your living expenses in January. Create a savings plan that suits your current lifestyle and make a list of savings goals. Many Brits like having savings but creating a savings fund can be difficult. Start making plans now so that you can have real savings when the post-Christmas period rolls around.

Plan for loan repayments correctly

When you are thinking about post-Christmas spending, you must include loan repayments for any credit that you have taken out. Research shows that many British parents will be using credit cards and loans to pay for Christmas, according to Moneyhelper. While it might be easy to try and forget about it, stay on top of loan repayments that you avoid financial trouble in the post-Christmas period. One way to do this is to write down the dates that your loan repayments are due in January and February, and put money aside now if you have multiple repayments you need to make for example. Save yourself trouble and stress by effectively managing loan repayments so that after Christmas you are not worried about how you are going to repay your loans.

Work on boosting your income

Start coming up with ideas on how to boost your income so that when Christmas ends, you have extra sources of cash. Many people want to increase income but don’t know how. You need to think about what your skills are and how you can use them now so that you have money for the post-Christmas period. The last thing you want to be worried about in January is about money. Fix your financial problems by increasing income after Christmas by doing freelance work or by creating products so that you can sell.

Start a business or find a new job

An excellent way to put your finances in order is by finding a new higher paid job that will make you successful. You should find recruitment agents or look online. You can also start a business if you are passionate about something that you think will be financially viable. By starting a business, this could create a solid foundation for your finances, as long as you are working on a business that you know will be financially successful.

Be serious about sticking to a monthly budget

It can be tedious thinking about how to live on a budget but you need to if you are going to live comfortably after Christmas. You can create a specific post-Christmas spending budget to help you ease into the New Year. You should account for loan repayments, spending on food and drink and your living expenses. One way to stick to a budget is to have it on your mobile phone so that you can carry it with you everywhere. You could create two budgets – one for disposable income and one for general living expenses.

Use these tips to plan your finances when it comes to post-Christmas spending. You don’t want to find yourself crushed under repayments but you also don’t want to have no money so you can live your life. With these solid tips, post-Christmas spending can be done in a way that is responsible without causing you stress.