Why you shouldn’t spend your December extra pay on Christmas

The outlook seems bleak. But it is not. “We can always do something,” he says. Amalia Guerreropersonal finance expert and author of books such as ‘At home the accounts are clear‘ and ‘Finances and children’.

How to face expenses at Christmas and the famous January slope These are the next challenges that families face. «The ideal would have been to anticipate and plan expenses from the month of Januarydedicating a percentage of our income to savings to be able to face exceptional situations that we always have, whether they are Christmas gifts or a trip. If we had saved 50 euros since January, today we would have 600,” he emphasizes. “But if we haven’t done it, we still have some margin,” he continues.

Guerrero’s first advice is make a gift list What we have to buy. “They don’t all have to be material,” he emphasizes. We will always remember the experiences with more affection. In addition, it is a way of giving gifts with which we can teach our children that we do not need to accumulate material things or spend just because.”

In this list, it is also essential write down prices and comparewithout being fooled by supposed great discounts. «With this prior analysis, we will avoid impulse buying. The offers must be taken advantage of consciously,” he emphasizes.

He indebtedness Yes, it is, in these cases, a red line. For the expert, going into debt to be able to afford Christmas shopping is very dangerous. «We get involved in paying, paying and paying. And since we do it with the credit card, it seems that nothing happens. Better to use the debit one,” he advises.

There may also be the situation that businesses offer a good loan. “I am not a fan of this type of thing,” she points out, “but if they offer us 0% interest to pay in three months, for example, we can choose this route so as not to have to assume the entire expense at once.”

Goal: save

Reduce all expenses What we can do in November is another piece of advice from the expert to feel more relaxed. «And save now. When we collect this month’s payroll, allocate a portion to savings,” Guerrero recalls.

Nor is it an excuse December extra pay to face excess expenses. «A part of it, always, to savings. Another, to the expense. Even if you have some high-interest debt, allocate part of that money to paying it off, in whole or in part. If you do this, you will not feel guilty and you will satisfy, as I always say, both your enjoying child and the responsible adult.

For teach the value of money to children For older children, the expert advises letting them make their own gift list. «So, let them dedicate themselves to investigating for a week or two where they sell it cheaper because it is outside the established budget. If they don’t find it, they will get tired and won’t want it anymore. They also buy on impulse.

Regarding the christmas menuGuerrero remembers that you can opt for healthier and more economical menus. «What is more important: being with family or overeating? Let’s prioritize! When we deviate from our usual diet, we feel bad, we get stuffed and we quickly want to go on a diet. The same thing happens when we overbuy: after spending too much, we want to save. There is a lot of similarity between finances and food, he says. We must choose and make decisions daily. Nowadays, we can eat suckling pig or seafood any day of the year. Therefore, common sense: you can’t spend money you don’t have».

Financial goals for next year

But we cannot end 2024 without having taken note of the mistakes made. “We have to learn from them,” emphasizes the bail expert, who recalls how the month of January is a new opportunity to put personal and family accounts in order.

“We must make a annual budget because it will allow us to anticipate the expenses that we know we are going to have each month,” explains Guerrero. «With this ‘photo’, we will be able to predict the expenses of next Christmas or see what we can cut back on -he states-. Although there are expenses that we cannot avoid (food, rent or mortgage, school…), there are others that we can reduce to balance our economy. Review that gym fee that we don’t even go to, insurance, subscriptions to platforms that we barely use, etc. It will make us aware of the expenses that we can get rid of, no matter how few they may be.

«Numbers are the only ones that tell us the truth. We must get out of complaining and explore how we can live more comfortably.. When you see that you can no longer cut your expenses, you have to think about how to increase your income,” says the expert. «Perhaps, we can become an intrapreneur within our company, sell on second-hand platforms what we no longer use, rent a room in the house because I don’t use it or share a car. There are always alternatives,” says Guerrero.

And every year we are going to experience a January and a December. “It depends on us if we want to succeed or have a bad time again,” he reflects. «If we keep doing the same thing, we will get the same results», he concludes.