How to make sure you stretch your rands this holiday season

The high weather temperatures and weekend braais aren’t the only indications that Dezemba is officially upon us. Soon, this season will inspire many individuals to enjoy life and be more carefree than usual as they spend time with friends and family, taking a much-deserved break from the demands of work.

However, if you allow yourself to get too carried away, that spring in your step may come to a sobering halt when the heat of Janu-worry’s financial struggles hits your pocket. FNB’s Product Head for Integrated Advice Ester Ochse shares some simple yet effective pointers to help you stretch your rands this season:

1. Create a budget and manage your spend - The temptation to splurge, thanks to that early December salary, bonus or thirteenth check is understandable. You’ve worked hard all year after all. However, Ochse cautions, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.  That’s why budgeting (or lack thereof) can mean the difference between truly enjoying a carefree holiday season and massive financial headaches when the New Year comes around. At FNB, we want to help consumers manage their money better, by making budgeting easy through the intuitive tools available on our banking App like Track My Spend and Smart Budget on nav» Money.”

“You can also set up Scheduled Payments on the FNB app, to ensure that as soon as your salary comes in, you quickly clear all your financial obligations before splurging on yourself and others,” she adds.

Having a budget in place and ensuring that you allocate spend for different priorities during this season, doesn’t mean that you can’t have fun. Instead, it means that by planning and controlling your spending, you’ll have exactly enough for every activity you want to engage in between now and your next pay day.

2. Spend and earn with loyalty rewards programmes - Loyalty reward programmes may just be the magic weapon in your holiday season arsenal. They can often be a saving grace as you try to scale back on your spending while potentially putting back hundreds, or even thousands, of rands into your pockets.  “For example, FNB eBucks has partnered with a range of retailers and lifestyle brands like Pick n Pay, Clicks, Takealot, ARC, Engen and MTBeds to make festive season essentials (from groceries to holiday accommodation, and refilling fuel) more affordable, while also enabling qualifying customers to earn even more back in eBucks for their spend.”

3. Set spend limits for gifts and make the thought really count - As big days like Christmas and New Year’s approach, it may be easy to succumb to the pressure of spending on elaborate gifts. And, if you have a large community of family and friends, that pressure multiplies by the number of people you need to give presents to.

“A great strategy is to agree with your loved ones on a price limit for gifts and opt-for a gift exchange like Secret Santa. This way, everyone receives a gift, and everyone spends a roughly equal value when sourcing these presents,” says Ochse.

Additionally, it’s important to remember that taking the time to make personalised DIY presents for your loved ones can have a lasting impact. “It’s the thought that counts. A well thought-out, creative, home-made gift may end-up being more meaningful to the recipient while also being easier on the pockets of the gift-giver,” says Ochse.

4. Opt for at-home get-togethers and bring-and-braais, whenever possible - Thankfully, for many South Africans, spending time at home during the holidays is par for the course. And, with the spirit of sharing being important in this season, regardless of whether you’re at the beach or in the bush, assigning responsibility for certain elements of catering, in the form of a potluck, can make for a more intimate and fun session while relieving the host of the burden of catering for big groups.  

“While it’s important to let our hair down during the holiday season, one can never be too careful in ensuring that they employ as many smart strategies to stretch their money and ensure it lasts all the way through December and until the next pay day at the end of January,” concludes Ochse.