It’s almost that time of the year — Tis the season of family dinners, late night out with friends and colleagues. It is also a time of lavish spending and high living. The term ‘Detty December’ is a term we are all too familiar with. We had a discussion on Twitter where we asked what people would do with 10million dollars this Christmas (You should join the conversation). Everyone wants to have December to remember.
I mean, you might need the break from working tirelessly throughout the year, and with all that happened this year (2020 did do a number on us), relaxing and unwinding might be number one on your to-do list. If you want to indulge, this is okay, but you must remember the holiday season’s expenses can take a hard toll on your wallet. So if you have decided to ‘flex’ this December, here are a few tips to keep you in check.
Create Your Detty December Budget
You knew the budget was the first thing, right? According to a survey taken by Picodi, a Nigerian is projected to spend at least N120,000 on their splurging for December. It is easy to see how these numbers add up when you factor in gifts, late-night dinners, house parties, travel expenses, and other miscellaneous expenses.
Budgets are fantastic ways to help manage impulse buying and prevent good-nature splurging. So if you have decided that this December is your ‘live and let’s live’ season, it would be great to consider details of your projected costs. Make a comprehensive list of the costs of your plan.
After making that list, the next thing you want to do is to decide on a spending limit. Be sure you are not dipping into rent, bills, or your emergency funds. Allocate specific amounts for each spending plan. What are you spending on gifts, travels, new clothes if you are the type to dress up for every occasion. Now is the time to decide!
Pro-Tip: Stick to the cash-only policy. This way, you would spend only the amount you allocated to each plan.
Examine Your Bank Account to Know If You Can Afford A Detty December
Perhaps this should come first because having a clear picture of what your bank statement looks like is how you determine whether you will be living the high and fast life, or perhaps this is your year of ‘maintaining.’
Try to evaluate if this December plan that you so steadfastly drew out is right for you. If you check out your bank statement and decide that your holiday plans won’t throw you into the deep end, come the beginning of January, by all means, splurge, and be merry. But if you notice that you are not in a good financial situation because this year was not what you expected, it would be great if you started to analyze what went wrong. Could you have spent less than you did throughout the year? Could you have invested more? Try to understand what your financial situation is and how you can improve it.
Minimize (Not Exclude) Unbudgeted Spending For Your Detty December
Why not exclude the idea of unbudgeted spending? Because that would be unrealistic. You would sometimes want to indulge in that open barbecue or in that cup of Amarula, and not placing a little room for unscheduled buys and purchases can make your list impractical. After all, you still want to enjoy yourself even if you are working with a budget.
Leverage On Help
If you are the type to host parties and dinners during this period, let your village help you. Preparing and cooking for all your loved ones can be so rewarding, but it can also cause a massive hole in your holiday budget.
Instead of cooking and catering yourself, you can allow your guests and family to bring in sides and desserts. This way, you’ll be fostering love, welcoming helping hands, and keeping a check on your holiday budget.
Get a Side Hustle For Your Detty December Splurging
Grow your funds and maximize overall expenses by exploring different ways to make money during the holidays. Consider options like renting out your apartment if you are traveling, selling goods and services. You also invest using excellent platforms like Rentcrowdy. With RentCrowdy, you can invest for as N5,000.
With a side hustle that is not overly time consuming, you are making money on the go instead of just taking cash till there’s nothing left. It is quite possible to make enough money to cover your holiday expenses and still stash some away.
Slash Your Largest Expense
Take care of your money during the holiday season by trimming down unnecessary expenses from your budget.
Pro Tip: But if after reading this piece and figuring out you cannot have your Detty December the way you want it, but you still want it anyway? Kwaba can do you a solid by paying your next rent. So you can enjoy your Detty December while knowing your rent is settled.
