If we have an expensive occasion, such as Christmas, to save up for, we may feel rather daunted. It can be hard knowing where to start and what to do. However, there are steps that you can take that will help.
Set a budget
It is a good idea to start with a budget. You should be able to work out what cards, presents and gift wrap you are buying and how much you might spend. Also work out whether there will be any other extras that you will buy such as decorations, extra food and drink, trips or holidays. Consider what you might normally buy and what you are likely to buy and then find out the costs of all of this. You may not normally add up how much extra you spend, but you need to do this. Then you will know how much you need to save up. It might be that you want to limit it to a certain amount and you set the budget and you will just have to manage but you may want to add it all up so that you do not go without anything and then come up with a way to get the money.
Save a certain amount each month
It can be wise to save some money up each month. This will spread the cost and mean that you will not need to worry about where to get the money from when it gets closer to Christmas. If possible it is best to spread the cost through the whole year, but this may not be possible if there is less than a year to go before the big day. It is worth calculating how much you will be able to afford to save each month and then set up a monthly transfer to move that money into your savings account just after you get paid each month. If you do this you will know that the money will be saved and you should have enough money available to be able to do it.
Cut spending elsewhere
You may need to cut spending in other areas to be able to save up enough. It is easier to cut spending from luxuries than form essentials normally. Although we should always compare prices to make sure that we are not spending more than necessary on everything we buy, we will find that we will not be able to go without necessities but we will be able to reduce luxuries as we do not need them. It may still not be easy to do this, but it may be something that you have to be prepared to do if you want to make it easier to manage at Christmas.
Earn some extra
Another option could be to earn some extra money. This will enable you to have some extra to save, as long as you make sure that this what you use it for. It can be tempting to spend more if we are earning more though so we will need to keep in mind that we have a goal to achieve and we need to concentrate on it to make sure that we do not get distracted and end up working for longer but not having money to show for it in our savings because we have spent it.
Saving up for things is not always easy. It is worth making sure that you always keep in mind that you have a goal and that you need to work hard to achieve it. Imagine how much better you will feel when you start buying things for Christmas and you know that you have the money all there to be able to buy the things that you want.
