How to manage your finance this festive season?
Last Updated : March 11, 2020, 2:30 p.m.
The arrival of Ganpati marks the beginning of festive season in India as it is followed by Durga puja, Diwali, Christmas and New Year. In all the celebrations there is one thing which is common “spending money”. From retail to e-commerce, you will find lucrative deals, cashbacks and special festive season offers to make you spend beyond your budget and that is when you find yourself encircled in a debt trap.
Today we are going to talk about the measures which would ensure you do not hurt yourself financially while going after the rambles of festivity.
It all starts with a plan – Set goals
There are needs and there are wants, if you are able to distinguish and list them as per your requirement then there is nothing like it. This will help you in establishing most wanted goals, which you want fulfilled on priority whereas you can keep the less necessary things for later. Sticking to a shopping list not only covers your most wanted needs but it also saves you from accumulation of unwanted debt.
Look for your best options – sale/offers
After you have zeroed in on the list of items you are going after this festive season, it’s time to look for avenues from where you can get the best offering. This is a digital age where every commodity is available at a lot of platforms. You can do your proper research and compare them as per the benefits offered to you.
Control your urge to splurge
These are times where people look for instant gratification and that is where your impulse comes in the play to distort your planning. With numerous discounts, cashbacks, buy 1 get 1 type festive offers it is quite tough to control the urge to let go of the shopping temptations. The financial experts mostly root for purchasing things out of your savings but you can also use your credit card if you are sure to make the bill payment on time.
Always follow the 30% rule when using Credit Cards
While spending via credit card, make it a thumb rule to never cross the credit usage beyond 30% of the total credit limit. Credit card outstanding if not paid in full before the due date attracts interest at 3% per month in addition to the late fee charged by the card issuing bank. But if you time your spending right, you can enjoy up to 40-45 days of interest free money. Pay it in full before the due date and you are home.
So, today we have learnt that, It is very important to adopt a discipline when it comes to spending habits and as Ogden Nash puts it – “Some debts are fun when you are acquiring them, but none are fun when you set about retiring them”