(03) 9020 2905Start … your party engines! Woo-hoo! Today marks the official opening of Christmas party season. Drink and be merry
I’ve got an average of a function a day for the next 30 days. Straight-out work-related Christmas parties, plus Christmas lunches, dinners and barbecues with family and friends. Christmas is the excuse anyway.
Berocca is my best friend at this time of year.
Financially, it’s the same. How much you indulge (others) determines the size of your Christmas hangover.
For too many, the pre-Christmas spending leaves a Mack truck-sized hole in finances, paid for through to February. And it’s not just presents – factor in the cost of the family holiday.
There are two ways to minimise the damage. One, cancel Christmas. Two, curtail spending. Clearly, option one isn’t really an option.
Do your kids really need a dozen presents each? No. Will they remember what they got on December 25 by the time the Boxing Day Ashes test is finished? No.
Blur some honesty lines: “Santa sent Mummy an email. He’s a little disappointed. You’ll get something, but you can forget about the Xbox.”
When it comes to costs, purchase needs (such as clothes) instead of junk that will be forgotten or broken within a week or two. If people ask what you want, suggest something that you were planning to buy anyway.
Suggest Kris Kringles for some groups that you might otherwise have to purchase for individually. Spending a little more on one present will usually beat buying six.
Bruce Brammall is the author of Debt Man Walking (www.debtman.com.au) and principal adviser with Castellan Financial Consulting.