Eight money saving hacks for a debt free Christmas
The countdown to Christmas 2016 has begun whether you (and your bank balance) like it or not. And if you think this means you’ve run out of time to get your finances in ship shape, think again. We’ve rounded up some of our favourite money-savings hacks that will help you to bulk up your savings in time for Santa’s arrival.
1. Set up your Christmas cupboard now. Impulse buying usually occurs when you leave Christmas shopping to the last minute and don’t have a present plan or set budget. Now is the time to do this so that in the next 8 weeks when you’re out and about you’ll be able to stock up on items gradually (and spot the bargains) rather than making all your expenses in one heap.
2. Cash in rewards points. Christmas is the perfect time to redeem those rewards points you’ve been stockpiling over the year. Or in the case of airline frequent flyer points, transfer them to a family member as a present if you’re not going to be travelling this holiday season.
3. Get cash back for your shopping. Many credit card providers are offering cash back incentives this festive season so why not let them help pay for some of your Xmas shopping. Just make sure that you set up a direct debit to repay the balance in full each month so that the shopping is interest free.
4. Flog it. As the saying goes, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure so now is the time to get rid of anything unused or unworn over the last 12 months before you add to your home’s clutter with this year’s xmas haul.
5. Host an office lunch share. This week at Mozo HQ we hosted a lunch share for World Savings Day. We each saved $11 - do this once a week for the next 8 weeks and there’s $88 to go towards a Christmas day outfit.
6. Don’t give your bank a Christmas bonus. Make sure you avoid paying those $2.50 out of network ATM fees and be sure to set up automatic repayments so that you don’t get caught out with late payment fees. If you’re on a high interest rate credit card, switch to one with a lower interest rate, like one of our recent Experts Choice Award winners.
7. Be generous with your time not your wallet. Rather than buy expensive gifts for friends or family look at options for enjoying each other’s company without spending money.
8. Ditch a vice, temporarily. That $3.50 take away coffee on the way to work over the next 8 weeks adds up to a very tidy $224. What other things could you give up, temporarily if it meant staying out of debt this Christmas?
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