5 money mistakes to avoid this holiday

Jingle coins…Jingle coins…Jingle all the way (to the bank)

As the holidays are fast approaching, we’ve curated 5 money mistakes you should avoid this season

Dive in!

There are a lot of people who believe that holidays are a perfect time to spend money on miscellaneous items due to rapid inflation in prices, the thought process is usually “I don’t know how much it would be after the holiday so let me just buy it now.” Irorun is here to tell you to relax.

When the urge to buy every random item crosses your mind, fight it! You’re not missing out on anything.

Satisfying every “buy me” impulse may leave you broke before the holidays are even over. Be a little intentional about curbing those impulsive habits, to avoid regret and unchecked expenses.

A sure way to curb impulse buying during the holiday season is to set a realistic holiday budget that covers all your major expenses for the season. This holiday budget will help you put a check on your spending limit.

Having a holiday budget will give you that sense of responsibility that you didn’t even know you needed and that’s why you need one (because life doesn’t end at the holidays). Having no budget affects your thought process, it becomes a free-for-all, and you just might end up struggling to keep up after the holidays are over.

We can’t be the only ones to have noticed that the days after the holidays seem to stretch on forever and seem to have a lot of expenses piled up (It’s like the universe has decided to punish you for having too much fun). You seem to realize that in your bid to enjoy the holidays to the fullest you are left with nothing and are now struggling. God forbid! Abi? That’s where budgeting comes in. Remember, when making a budget, you are always advised to set aside some savings. January has 35 days o!

One piece of advice we’d love to give you regarding saving is this — Don’t just save for the rainy days with cloudy skies, save for sunshiny days with clear skies too.

Many holiday decisions are made under the influence of the “holiday spirit”. It’s easy to get lost in the bubble and fritz of the holiday and that’s why some people only decide to travel and visit family during this period. For someone who is trying to survive till after the holidays, this would mean extra expenses for you. Village people would want more than greetings o!

Unless you have enough to spare for a holiday trip, you shouldn’t be taking one on a whim. Even when others travel for holiday adventures in other parts of the world doesn’t mean that you should.

Imagine getting stranded in another state or country because in the ‘spirit of the holiday’ you wanted to visit some random family member or go on an adventure without making plans for it. Ha! don’t do it!

Say it out loud “I’m not at home!”

We know that sometimes it’s hard to outrightly say ‘no’ when asked for a favour from family or friends. But sometimes learning how to say “no” saves you from unplanned and burdensome expenses.

Take, for instance, a family member or friend suggests “spending the holiday with you”. Although it seems like a nice holiday gesture, it would be best to decline if your finances cannot accommodate so much at that point. Taking on extra expenses in a bid to “save face” may cost you more than you expect.

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It’s the festive season soon and as always, we want you to make great financial choices and plans in preparation for the new year.

Irorun is still in the business of providing the best loan options. Send us a message at support@irorun.com to find out more.