How to Prepare for the Holiday Season Now
With the rising cost of living you probably don’t even want to think about the holiday season yet.
So why prepare for the holiday season now?
Whether you celebrate Christmas or anything else in the holiday season or not, there are many reasons to prepare for it.
Casual workers don’t get paid if they don’t work, some workplaces shut down so it’s forced annual leave with no chance of overtime etc.
School holidays and care for the school holidays can be difficult to get or expensive to use so that time of year can be harder for families.
Then of course there are all the expenses from gifts to food if you do celebrate it as well.
How Can You Prepare For The Holiday Season Now?
Preparing for the holiday season is significantly easier if you start early.
It’s even easier if you plan it into your regular budget every week/fortnight or month so the money is always there.
Life can change at a moments notice though so what you had set aside might get used up for emergencies or similar.
Here are some tips on how you can prepare now.
Disclosure: This post can contain affiliate links.
1. Know What You Want/Need
Knowing what you want or need for that time of year makes it easier to create a plan and stick to it.
Will your work be closed and limit your income?
How many people are you getting gifts for, what will you get and what is your budget?
Do you have childcare arranged, will it cost extra or will you need to find creative solutions?
If there is any travel, time off, large celebrations or other expectations, start planning and preparing now.
2. Set Up Savings
Starting to save money, even a small amount now will help when you need it at the end of the year.
Either get a new account specifically for this purpose or rename one of your accounts and put money in it regularly.
You could kickstart those savings with bank bonuses such as $100 from ING, $15 instantly from Up and $10 to $30 from Ubank.
And consider doing a savings challenge to help you save even more, there are 9 different ones to choose from here.
3. Plan Your Spending
Once you know what you need to buy e.g. gifts, food, book travel arrangements etc. Start planning when and how you will do it.
With Black Friday Sales, Prime Day and upsized cashback sales plus many more throughout the year, you can get whatever you need for less than the full price.
Sign up to Shopback to get cash back on your purchases..
Shopback: Join Shopback for free and get a bonus after your first purchase. Get even more cash by doing online surveys, joining challenges, uploading receipts and utilising upsized cash back offers.
When using them, look for upsized cash back, special offers and see how you can earn more.
Also, look at how you can combine coupons and discounts to save even more.
Here are the steps we take to get discounts on everything and a huge list of freebies you can check for gift ideas.
4. Set A Budget
Without a specific budget for that time of year, it is easy to overspend.
By reviewing what you need to consider such as lost wages, extra childcare and all the gifts etc you can add up how much you will need.
Then look at ways you can reduce the expenses and the impact of any lost income.
Read through how to do a Christmas with no money.
5. Make More Money
Start looking at ways to make more money now so you can save more and make life easier as a whole, not just during the holiday season.
Making more money doesn’t have to mean working more, starting a side hustle or taking more time away from family.
There are plenty of things you can do to make more money (and possibly save more) without it taking more from you.
Look at how to increase your income e.g. upskill, ask for a raise, change companies or careers.
Check out these 24 ways to make money in 2024 and these 10 hobbies that make and save money.
What are things you currently do that you could make money from?
Or how can you increase the income from the things you already have such as a job, business or side hustle?
6. Plan Activities
The holiday season can be expensive due to how long the school holidays are, all the extra events and increased expenses of those.
Look at these 37 frugal family activities to get you started.
Considering doing online surveys to cash out gift cards to use at the movies and other activities
Check for discounts, coupons, free activities and get started with them now.
Some simple things kids love are playing in the bush or at the beach or lake, fishing, bike riding, rollerblading, going to see the ducks, spending time at the park, playdough etc.
Baking cakes and cookies or learning how to cook meals.
Create a fort kit with sheets, pegs and string that you store in a pillowcase.
Grab some cheap games, toy packs and books from the second-hand shops to give to the kids throughout the school holidays.
Gift them activities and things they can use such as sports equipment, board games, books and similar or experiences e.g. a gift card for an arcade, the movies etc.
When you have a plan for a mix of activities, it reduces the boredom and expense that can come with the school holidays.
7. Reduce Expenses for Summer e.g. Electricity Bills etc.
Another big thing about the holiday season is people are home more, Australia gets hot so air conditioning is used more and the bills increase quickly.
Read how to save money in summer to find everything about affording big bills, keeping cool for cheap, reducing the cost of Christmas and more.
