If there is one particular thing I am big on as a person, which means I don’t take that particular thing for granted, it’s budgeting. When it comes to budgeting, I am amongst the top 2s in my family that doesn’t take budgeting for granted, I guess this is the result of having to accompany my mum to the market every last friday/first Monday of every month, she is my budgeting role model…
I started going to the market with my mum at a very early age, I have been her cost analyst for as long as I can remember, my mum doesn’t really go beyond her budget whenever she is in the market, I got that habit from her, and when I grew much older I started finding budgeting more fun and interesting, and gradually it became part of me, which literally made some of my friends think I am just being stingy to myself when I have the funds …
This habit of mine doesn’t really defer even when it’s December period, as we all know, December is a month filled with so many celebrations, and the ugly truth about these celebrations is that every of these celebrations costs money, and if one isn’t careful enough, one would run into debt after spending on both relevant and irrelevant items just to make sure the festive season is well celebrated…
I have heard and seen a lot of people run into debt just to make sure the festivities in the month of December is celebrated in a grand manner, I think the reason why majority of the people out there always run into debt while trying to celebrate the festivities is because they always want to celebrate it in a grand manner, the one thing most people don’t understand and know is that all these celebrations doesn’t have to be celebrated big, what matters most is celebrating it with one’s family and loved ones…
You don’t need to spend a fortune just to make sure Christmas and new year are well celebrated, you could spend big and at the end of the day you don’t have many people turn up for you, which means it can end in either of these two ways, spend big and not have many friends turn up, which would eventually lead to wastage, or spend small and have people turn up to grace your invite, what matters most should be your heart and the bond you have built with the people in the last couple of months, because the bond matters more than the manner of celebration…
Thanks to budgeting I have been able to live a cultured lifestyle, and the funniest thing is that I always make my plans ahead of time, which means I set aside some extra funds just to cater for unwanted and unplanned expenses while celebrating this festive seasons…
I don’t spend on irrelevant things even on a normal day, so the chances of going out of budget while celebrating Christmas and new year is very low, but to be on a more safer side I make sure I set aside some extra cash while planning these celebrations, and most of the time this extra cash has always come in handy and helpful, and in this way I still manage to keep myself happy while spending on budget…
Working with my budget doesn’t stop me from eating garnished rice, neither does it stop me from eating fried chicken and having lots of fun while celebrating the festivities…
In summary, the best way to keep your spending in check this festive season is to make you set your priorities right, create a budget plan, set aside some extra cash incase of any unexpected events or unplanned expenses, so when these events surfaces, the funds set aside will be able to counter it, thus keeping you from running into debt…
In conclusion, there is no crime in celebrating both Christmas and new year in a small manner, what matters most is the fact that you are spending this beautiful moments with your families and loved ones, this should be the bigger focus and picture. Set your priorities right, create a good budget plan and lastly, set aside some extra cash for any unplanned trips and expenses on these days…
NB: The above image were taken with my device…
THANKS FOR READING…