Beat Inflation: How To Avoid Overspending This Holiday Season

Amid all the frenetic holiday preparations, there’s this nagging little thought: Are you financially really ready for the upcoming gastos season? How is inflation supposed to make this Christmas different from last year?

With the Philippine peso exchange rate and the rise in prices of basic commodities. Should you let this ruin the most wonderful time of the year?

Holidays in Time of Inflation

In this post, we’re going to share with you four tips to wiser holiday shopping to help you stretch your budget. Read on and find out how you can survive the holiday’s in the time of inflation.

1. Plan ahead

We all know the saying that the best things happen unexpectedly, but this doesn’t apply when it comes to you making the most of your money.

The first thing that you need to do to ensure you spend wisely this holiday season is to create a plan (a special holiday budget is a good idea) . You should also keep abreast of the financial news to learn about how the current situation of the country will affect your purchasing power as well as your investments.

By doing this, you’ll be able to make your own personal inflation-fighting strategy and be better able to master controlling your finances.

Commit to your plan . Don’t be tempted by those eye-catching, wallet destroying mall displays – especially those showing items that are not part of your list. You’ll still get to enjoy the holidays and holiday goodies, but not at the expense of your yearly savings.

(Read: 5 Ways To Train Your Brain To Save, Not Splurge)

2. Do not make snap decisions

Avoid, avoid, avoid snap decisions this holiday season. Stick to your budget and your shopping list.

One good way to keep from making snap decisions, especially when it comes to gift giving, is to ask your friends and loved ones to make a wish list. You can even agree on a budget. This way you can be sure your giving them something they really want at a price you can afford.

While shopping online has its conveniences – avoiding the holiday crowds, the traffic, and the rising fare and fuel costs, it can be dangerous to your budget. It’s so easy to be tempted by a nice product photo or description. Don’t be. Stick to the list.

Once again, keep a close watch on how inflation can change the prices of things that you will be needing so that you can adhere to your budget while ticking everything off your Christmas lists.

3. Avoid hoarding

People have the tendency to hoard whenever they notice the price of some commodities has gone from really high to really low. They think that this will save them money. Well, think again.

What use is having ten cans on mixed fruit cocktail in your kitchen when you’re only going to use two cans for your special fruit salad on Noche Buena? Unless you really, really, really like fruit cocktail and can eat it every month of the year, you basically spent a lot of money on something that’s just going to take up space.

Why not instead of hoarding a certain product and end up wasting it, whether be it due to spoiling for foods or any other kind of wastage, add that extra money to your savings so that if a product that you really need is higher than its usual price, you can still be able to purchase it without the worry of spending more than what your budget has intended for it.

Spend more on time dedicated to your family and friends and spend less on the things that you thought you might need but really don’t. Hoard memories, after all, that is the purpose of this season, right?

(Read: This Is How Much ‘Luxury’ Items Are Worth In The Eyes Of A Filipino Billionaire)

4. Change your habits

Whether be it the holidays or not, all of us must be mindful of our habits, especially the bad ones.

If you are looking forward to a great holiday spent with your loved ones, a little change from your habits will make a big difference.

It is during these times of inflation that we must be cautious and only indulge in things that can be made better even when it’s cheaper.

For example, instead of your expensive out-of-town bonding trips, why not share laughs and conversation while preparing and eating a holiday meal together ?

Instead of visiting the malls on your usual days off, try buying supplies and groceries during sales. Stock up on non-perishables especially when the price is right. This is also the perfect time to use those coupons that you have been keeping for too long now. Reduce the waste of food and other things.

Be wiser and be better. After all, the holiday season is still the holiday season even without lavish spending. Remember, happy memories are priceless, even with inflation .