During the festive season people seem to forget that January is just around the corner, and tend to overspend in December. Old Mutual has a few tips on how to prevent the empty-pocket syndrome during the longest month ever!
“When you are used to getting paid between the 25th and 30th of the month and suddenly you get paid on the 15th or the 20th, January will be the longest month in your calender’’, says John Manyike, the Head of Financial Education at Old Mutual. Manyike explains that people have to try to survive for about 6 weeks which requires a lot of discipline.
The idea of overcoming the December fever can be hard but, you need to have a festive season budget and stick to it. Always be mindful of back- to- school expenses and debts that need to prioritised before over spending. “Spend what is left if you have money to spend, in essence your spending needs to planned and you should remain committed to your budget,” John advises.
January is generally a tough month for most people and this is primarily due to a lack of planning and the refusal to live within one’s means.
“The reality is that when we overspend during December our debt obligations remain, and as expected debit orders will bounce because of ‘insufficient funds’ in the account. As a short-term measure, consumers may approach a lender to make up for the short-fall, but this only piles on the debt and makes situation even worse,” says Manyike.
Strategies to stop you from spending
• Automate your account, put your money in a locked account that will make it hard for you to have access it. When you receive a certain amount of money, put it in a fixed account where you will have access to it in 30 to 60 days, this discourages consumers to actually spend unnecessarily.
• Create realistic expectations to your loved ones when it comes to your finances. Find a way to mitigate the financial support that you’ll be expected to provide during the festive season.
John states that South Africa has a poor culture of saving and consumers need to start thinking long term. It’s very important to find ways to manage your money long-term because this cuts down on all the unnecessary things that you can do without. “It can take several months to recover from debt incurred over the festive season, and that’s not a place you want to find yourself in, during the new year”, says John.