I love the festive season! From Melbourne Cup to Australia Day it seems to be a procession of parties, BBQs and events – all the stuff I love. It is also a time that many of us go on holidays and let’s not forget all the Christmas presents. What a great time of year! Did I mention I LOVE it?!

It is also the most expensive time of year. If you are not careful, it can have negative financial consequences.  Overspending is all too common at this time of year, often compounded by funding the overspending by inefficient methods.

Controlling spending levels is always a challenge, at this time of year it can be a near impossibility. The key is planning, set budgets, monitor spending and stick to it.  Be realistic, try to predict likely behaviour and set budgets accordingly. If in the previous five years you took a cab home from the work Christmas party after planning to get the train, chances are you’ll do it again this year, so budget for it.

There are likely to be some areas you can cut costs.  Do you really need to buy a new outfit for each event? Can you forego the blow dry or spray tan? Can you arrange to share a cab? Can you have a Kris Kringle instead of buying everyone a present or set price limits on gifts?

Reducing spending need not interfere with having a great time.  However, there are likely to be areas that you can reduce costs without reducing the things that are important to you.

The other area where people go wrong is funding the Christmas period. Too often people go into debt to pay for Christmas presents or the annual holiday. Quite often this is credit card debt with high interest rates making it difficult to pay the debt off. This negatively impacts cashflow moving forward.

The best option is to acknowledge that the festive season is likely to be expensive and plan in advance.  The simplest method is to calculate how much extra you will spend over that period, and commence a savings plan to ensure you have sufficient funds come Christmastime.

Spreading the cost throughout the year also helps.  This may involve buying presents throughout the year or pre-paying for holidays.

Christmas is a great time of year and should be enjoyed with family and friends.  My advice would be to do your best to control spending and be ready and prepared for significantly higher costs over this period.