Gift Your Future Self This Christmas

With Christmas just around the corner, many people are feeling the financial crunch when they think about all of the gifts they need to purchase for friends and family. In many cases the pressure can be more intense for women, who on average spend more on Christmas gifts than men, splashing out $496 on their friends and family, in comparison to $432.

On top of that, each week in Australia, women work roughly 44 hours more than men without earning a single cent, with PwS estimating that Australian women are doing $2.2 trillion of unpaid work each year.

With Australian's set to fork out $52.7 billion this Christmas (increased by 2.6% since 2018), we've listed tips for how people, particularly women can manage their wealth during Christmas and set themselves up for financial success heading into 2020;

Create a budget;
It seems simple, but it's a step people forget to take. Before you spend a dime on gifts, create a budget just as you would (or at least should) for other major expenditures. You need to know how much income is coming in, how much is going out on necessities (groceries, bills, etc) and what you have left for your Christmas/NY spend. As many people take unpaid annual leave over the break, it's also crucial to plan ahead for any weeks you might have a lower income than usual.

Shop via systems that reward you;
There are many rewards systems that offer shoppers cash back or points to spend with that retailer another time. Super-Rewards is designed (but not exclusive) for women who work part time or not at all, who during the Christmas/New Year period are doing majority of the Christmas shopping and not earning anything towards their financial future. The online platform means users earn cash back into their super via their everyday shopping – think $5 cashback now or $30,000 in your retirement!

Manage your gift buying closely;
Before you start shopping, list everyone you need to buy for, and estimate expenses on each person. If the total costs are too extravagant, revisit the list and re-evaluate the budget. It sounds clinical, but it will help your wallet in the long run. Having a few ideas for each person will also stop you spending more on an unplanned present.

Start Planning For Next Year's Holiday Spending;
It's never too early to start saving for next year; shop for gifts throughout the year, especially during sales like the boxing day sales. Doing this will help spread out your costs over the year and save you from that last-minute dash.

Sell, sell, sell;
If everyone's buying, it's a good time to sell. Is your house full of things you don't need (like unwanted Christmas presents and unused exercise equipment from last year). Try an online site or host a garage sale if you've a lot of stuff to offload. You've nothing to lose but you could earn some extra festive cash.

Photo by rupixen.com on Unsplash