As we approach the festive period, I felt it was appropriate for me to write this small guide about how you can remain in control of your finances this Christmas.

We all like to ‘let our hair down’ at this time of year, but some of us can often become too ‘relaxed’ in our attitude to money and may end up overspending on things we don’t really need.

So how can you make sure you are in full control of your finances this Christmas?

1. Create a budget

By creating a budget, you can help make sure you are in full control of your finances throughout the entire festive period and beyond and ensure you stay out of debt (Click here for more on debt). You should start by writing down everything you earn in a month (including any welfare/grants you receive) and then writing down everything you spend in a month on your essential expenses (mortgage or rent payments, for example, utility bills and food).

Now that you have a clear overview of your finances, you should be able to highlight areas where you are wasting your money. For example, are you spending $100 on takeout meals each month? If so, have a think about whether you really need to do this. You could save yourself a lot of money!

2. Buy Cheap

There is no shame in buying cheap. I love to buy cheap – I search the shelves and racks for cheap/value alternatives to the product I need to buy.

For example, just last week I was purchasing some cereal and realized that the branded equivalent of the product I was buying was actually $1.25 more expensive than the value one. So I took the value one and made a nice little saving.

Just think, if you can adopt the same principle while shopping, you could save yourself so much money – and saving yourself money will help you remain in full control of your finances over the Christmas period.

3. Don’t buy things you don’t need/can’t afford

This is the point I found hardest to learn. Basically, if you really want to improve your ability to control your finances, you need to teach yourself to avoid buying things you don’t need or simply cannot afford.

Like I said, this is really hard to do. But if you have enough willpower, you will do it just fine. The best way to do it (in my opinion) is this:

• When you see something you like and want to buy – just ask yourself…’Do I really need this?
• If that doesn’t stop you – just ask yourself…’Can I actually afford this, or will I be struggling to afford other (more important) things if I buy it?’

That is the process I use to stop myself wasting my money…and it’s worked so far.
If you learn to control your spending like this, you should be in full control of your finances, you may even find that you have some money left over at the end of the month!