There are two kinds of people: Those who start saving for Christmas and other important events from the onset of the year and those who wait till it’s November before they start scrambling to save whatever they can. Last year, I was in the latter category, and this year, well, let’s just say it’s not too late for me to retrace my steps. There are probably lots of youths like myself out there who started off this year with a goal of saving more but have gotten sidetracked by bills and other expenses. If you’ve been waiting for a sign to start saving more, this is it. Here are the steps we need to take to save more towards the year end’s holiday season:
1: Get rid of this mindset:
It’s not so far- I can save later on (It’ll be Christmas before you know it, start now)
I can pay for my expenses with my October and November salary (If you can’t save now, what makes you think November will be different?)
Something will happen that will bring me a lot of money before then (Faith is good but saving money has hurt no one)
I don’t have any plans to buy anything major this Christmas (cough, cough)
2. Calculate how much you need to save to reach your goal by the end of the year:
For example, if you want 300,000 Naira saved by December and you haven’t started saving yet, you’ll need to put away 43,000 Naira monthly from henceforth. If you want 100,000 Naira saved by the end of the year and you haven’t started saving yet, you’ll need to start saving 14,300 Naira from this month.
3. Adjust your spending:
See if there are budget categories you can tweak. What’s presently on your budget that you can cut down on? Drink with friends three times a week? How about cutting it down to twice or once? Spend so much on data? You can switch to more cost-effective data plans or try a more affordable data provider. If you look within your budget, you’ll find one or two expenses you can cut on.
4. Create a new account:
Put your savings into a separate account which is purely for Christmas. That way you won’t be tempted to touch it and the money won’t get spent on something else.
5. You can buy things ahead of time:
You don’t have to wait for Christmas to start shopping. The price of most things shoots up by that time of the year anyway. Thinking of buying some new ‘Christmas clothes’ for yourself? Take advantage of discount sales that go on all through the year. Thinking of traveling or taking a vacation? Book ahead of time to get the best hotel and flight deals.
Christmas is still seven months away but it’s never too early to start preparing. Make this a Christmas where you are not worried about money or expenses by starting a savings plan. Merry Christmas in advance 🙂
