{"id":1563,"date":"2019-11-06T20:37:00","date_gmt":"2019-11-06T09:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gpadviser.com.au\/gpl-theme-1-2015\/2019\/11\/06\/tis-the-season-to-spend-mindfully\/"},"modified":"2019-11-06T20:37:00","modified_gmt":"2019-11-06T09:37:00","slug":"tis-the-season-to-spend-mindfully","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gpadviser.com.au\/gpl-theme-1-2015\/2019\/11\/06\/tis-the-season-to-spend-mindfully\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Tis the Season to Spend Mindfully"},"content":{"rendered":"

How often have you approached the new year under a black cloud of financial doom and gloom, straight on the back of Christmas spending? Sure, you\u2019ve got some shiny new toys and hazy memories of fun times. However, it\u2019s likely Santa keeps leaving you with a rather empty wallet, along with those pressies stuffed so enticingly in the Christmas stockings.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The week after Christmas often feels like a hangover in so many more ways than one. While you can sleep off the party in a day, it usually takes your budget a whole lot longer to recover. So, how do you avoid getting a little too jolly with your money, in the season to be jolly? It\u2019s all about spending mindfully.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Give yourself a Christmas budget<\/h3>\n

Nothing sounds more boring than creating a budget during the \u2018silly season\u2019! However, doing so helps you spend mindfully and keep track of every dollar – so you don\u2019t, in fact, go silly. After all, it\u2019s all too easy to become enchanted by so much fun, so many glittery things and so much good cheer to spread.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Right now, ask yourself how much money you\u2019re willing to spend on Christmas<\/a>, including presents, food, decorations and parties. How much you can safely afford without getting into debt, blasting a hole in your rainy-day fund or setting yourself back from achieving a financial goal? Write the figure down, set aside the money and make it work for you. It\u2019s easier than you think.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Ditch pricey traditions<\/h3>\n

Many of us automatically stock up on Christmas cards, wrapping, gift tags, curling ribbon and all the rest of it. When you really think about this particular tradition, all that stuff simply goes straight in the bin with the leftover prawns. Now, picture looking at a $100 bill for a few seconds, ripping it apart and throwing it in the bin.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Start a new tradition and wrap your gifts in pretty scrap materials, handy shopping bags or sarongs, shirts and even the obligatory socks, to make up part of the present. Get creative online and record fun digital greetings to loved ones, or craft your own with recycled paper. Don\u2019t be afraid to break the \u2018rules\u2019 of expectation in this way. Start your own traditions that benefit the environment and add a more personal flavour to your gifts.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Back to those prawns, most Aussie Christmas lunches could be cut down by half and still end up rotting in the fridge. Make a list of what you need and allocate specific dishes to each family member. Curb the desire to think, \u201cbut what if there\u2019s not enough? I\u2019ll buy (insert a dozen more food items here), just in case.\u201d It\u2019s those items that\u2019ll be left in the sun to perish long after everyone jumps in the pool.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Give time, rather than money<\/h3>\n

While new \u2018things\u2019 tend to lose their appeal by Boxing Day, experiences and time spent with loved ones create memories that last for life. Rethink the idea of gift-giving and make your own gift vouchers offering everything from home cooked meals to garden overhauls and fun outings. Volunteer your time to a charity and get your family and friends on board, to help those less fortunate while doing something meaningful together.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When you simplify Christmas by putting the focus on spending time with family and friends, rather than shiny objects that may end up in the bin anyway, jolly times become much less expensive. Plus, you can rest easy in the fact that, while you might have to sleep off a hangover or two, it won\u2019t be your finances that need to go into recovery.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sources:
<\/strong>www.finder.com.au\/christmas-spending-statistics-2018<\/span><\/p>\n

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Any information provided by the author detailed above is separate and external to our business and our Licensee. Neither our business nor our Licensee takes any responsibility for any action or any service provided by the author.<\/span><\/p>\n

Any links have been provided with permission for information purposes only and will take you to external websites, which are not connected to our company in any way. Note: Our company does not endorse and is not responsible for the accuracy of the contents\/information contained within the linked site(s) accessible from this page.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How often have you approached the new year under a black cloud of financial doom and gloom, straight on the back of Christmas spending? Sure, you\u2019ve got some shiny new toys and hazy memories of fun times. However, it\u2019s likely Santa keeps leaving you with a rather empty wallet, along with those pressies stuffed so […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-general-articles","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gpadviser.com.au\/gpl-theme-1-2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1563","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gpadviser.com.au\/gpl-theme-1-2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gpadviser.com.au\/gpl-theme-1-2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gpadviser.com.au\/gpl-theme-1-2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gpadviser.com.au\/gpl-theme-1-2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1563"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.gpadviser.com.au\/gpl-theme-1-2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1563\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gpadviser.com.au\/gpl-theme-1-2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gpadviser.com.au\/gpl-theme-1-2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1563"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gpadviser.com.au\/gpl-theme-1-2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}