Don’t let December holidays impact your 2022

Living month to month can be extremely tough and sometimes you feel like throwing the budget out the window to just “enjoy life”. FOMO, YOLO and a whole lot of other abbreviations set us all on a path of destruction when it comes to finances.

10.07 million consumers in South Africa have impaired credit records and I can tell you that from the stories I have heard from clients over the past 12 years, most consumers thought they had their debt under control until they realised, they didn’t.

Here are some tips so that your November and December this year doesn’t make you broke and over-indebted for 2022:

• BUDGET! Make a list of the items you need or want and give yourself a budget for it, you may scratch some wants off your list if your budget doesn’t allow for them. Stick to your budget and list.
• Shop around and compare prices. Sometimes that “special” is not so special.
• Stop yourself from Impulse Spending! This means if you have not set a budget for Black Friday or all your wants over December, rather go without it and plan a budget for next time.
• Don’t rely on bonuses or income you are not 100% sure you are getting. Doing this can land you in a tight spot if the funds don’t materialise.
• Do not borrow money from unregistered credit providers.
• If your plan is to apply for a loan, only apply for what you need, do not be tempted to apply for more just because you are told that you qualify for more.
• Remember that if you are buying things on credit, you pay more for it due to service fees and interest you will pay, so think twice if you have actually “saved” on the purchase.
• Rather gift yourself by paying up current debt rather than making new debt.
• There are so many free activities to do if your budget doesn’t allow for paid for events, check your local events pages.
• Remember that a lot of the time you will get greater discounts after the festive season hype is over.
• Do a budget and a plan for 2022, so that you know you will manage and that you have less stress and you can have more of what you need and want.

"A budget is telling your money where to go, instead of wondering where it went." John Maxwell

Have you ever wondered what the difference is between having debt and being over indebted? Would like to know what you can do to curb that credit card debt? Perhaps you would like to know what being “Blacklisted” means? You can visit here to find more articles on debt and credit.