A budget-friendly Christmas

Christmas comes every year on December 25th. It doesn’t change. In outside countries, Christmas is seen as a family and friends event that should be enjoyed as we celebrate the birth of Christ yet on the inside, it is a financial event that requires financial planning, and taking advantage of this fact will save you both money and stress when the most wonderful time of the year rolls around.
Here are some tips to make your holiday season a bit more budget-friendly.
• Stick to a Budget
While being hosted on a TV show last year, I related money to a prisoner and a budget to a prison. You are the prison warder. It is common knowledge that without a prison (read budget), you can’t hold a prisoner and with a weak prison (budget not on paper) and weak prison warder (you not being strict in following the budget) the prisoner (read money) escapes. Today, I will simplify the definition of a budget as a list of things on a paper you intend to buy given your available cash. Please note that I have mentioned the list has to be on a paper. It is bad financial practice to hold that list in your head and the routine should be as such:
1. Get money out of your pocket/hold your VISA card in your hand
2. Look at the budget
3.Pay.
• If you dare skip step 2 (ignore the budget), no amount of money will be enough to cover all your costs this Christmas.
• One of the best ways to plan for affordability is by adding the words “This Christmas”, “Next Christmas” on all items on that list. It’s not possible that you will need all items on that list this Christmas. Get into a habit of postponing whatever you can’t afford to “Next Christmas.”
• Start buying now: Economics advises that when demand is high and the supply is low prices must shoot up. We live in a country where we have a deficit for almost every commodity. We can’t have enough supply for chicken; we can’t have enough supply for beef, we can’t have enough supply for electronics. In the transport sector, all bus companies combined can’t handle the transport demand. Now that Christmas is around the corner, too many buyers are going to chase too few goods. Prices must rise. Start stocking nonperishables now. You are better off buying the cock now and feeding it on maize bran and water for the next week than buying it four days towards Christmas. Besides, if the adage that ‘Time is money’ applies in your world, consider the money you will lose in terms of time wasted in long queues should you choose to buy items a few days towards Christmas.
•Reduce the list of people you buy gifts for. Children, parents, siblings, and other close family and friends should get their due. But consider skipping coworkers, extended family you don’t see on a regular basis, and the barista who fills your coffee cup order a few times a week. You might just relieve them of the obligation to buy you a present in return.
• Switch venues: Instead of spending on renovation or completing your house in preparation for Christmas, why not pool resources with a member and be hosted at their home this Christmas? With this approach, you only get to spend on food, drinks, gifts and transport instead of adding building materials on the list.
• Commit yourself to shopping around relentlessly for big-ticket items. TVs, computers, video game consoles, can vary wildly in price from different retailers. You will not be certain that a certain retailer is giving you a good deal unless you window-shop from like four other retailers making price checks and questions on warranties and after sales services on the same items.

Plan for affordability
As you make that list, take a good look at the books (incomes sources) and decide what you can afford to spend for Christmas – taking care to make sure you are not going to be flat broke in January 2019.
One of the best ways to plan for affordability is by adding the words “This Christmas”, “Next Christmas” on all items on that list. It’s not possible that you will need all items on that list this Christmas. Get into a habit of postponing whatever you can’t afford to “Next Christmas.”

The writer is the chief executive officer of House of Wealth.