The Budget Planner Blog

With 5 weeks left until the big day itself, Christmas is fast approaching and as per usual I haven’t even started on my preparations.

I’m not worried though because I have it all under control and I’m happy to reveal my secrets with you now.

1. This year my family and I have agreed a spending limit for Christmas presents; we’re spending no more than £10 per person. Not only is this going to save me money, but it will also hopefully reduce the amount of time it takes me to get my shopping done as the choice of gifts available for under £10 is a lot smaller! If you don’t think there’s anything you can buy for £10, why not agree to pool your money and organise a Secret Santa? This way you get one big gift for everyone in your family instead of lots of smaller gifts.
2. December is typically a month when I spend and eat excessively but no matter how much I eat there is always some waste that gets thrown out. This year I’m making a shopping list and only getting what I need; I’m going to gain some pounds in my wallet and save some from my waist!
3. Christmas is a time of giving and receiving and it’s time for the companies that I’ve been loyal to over the year to give me my rewards! Time to redeem my Nectar and Clubcard points then. I’ve just received my Clubcard bonus for the last quarter (which totalled around £10) and I have just over a 1000 Nectar points so another £5 to add to my total. If you use cashback websites or credit cards you might also want to redeem any rewards you have amassed on these too.
4. Organise my Christmas payday. Each year I get excited about the early December payday but then regret this excitement towards the end of January. This year however, I’m going to take 15% of my November pay and 15% of my December pay and put this in a separate account for use at the end of January.
5. And finally, you’ve worked hard all year and it’s time to play hard so budget for extra nights out and activities. Christmas is a time for seeing friends and family but there is normally an extra cost involved in this such as travel, meals and drinks. Just remember to budget a bit more than you normally would for leisure expenses.

Did you find these tips useful? Can you provide any other tips? As always your comments are most welcome.

P.S. Here’s a voucher for 40% off wines and champagnes instore at Threshers (valid until 2nd December 2008) Threshers Voucher

Labels: christmas budget, christmas tips

I recently took out a £5000.00 loan over 4 years to pay off my student overdraft, three credit cards and a car loan.

I was paying out £190.00 a month in total but am now only paying £125.00, a saving of £65.00 per month. I've calculated that if I had continued with my original payments I would have paid off my debts in around 3 years time but would have paid around £1000.00 more than what my loan will cost me, if I was to pay the standard credit card rates.

In this instance I think I made the right decision in taking out this loan, although I am paying it back for longer it is cheaper on a monthly basis and overall. Obviously, if I transferred my debt to interest free credit cards this might not be the case, but I have tried this in the past and find myself starting with good intentions only to gradually reduce my repayments to the minimum level. Plus, who’s to say with the current global climate that these deals will still be around in a year’s time and if they are there is no guarantee that I would be approved credit.

What do you think? Do you agree that debt to pay off debt is a good idea? Let me know your opinion.

Labels: credit cards, debt, loans

Welcome to the first post from The Budget Planner.

We are going to use this blog to tell you about our Budget Planning exploits which, hopefully will help you to make your money go further.

We would also like you to share any budgeting tips you may have and welcome any comments on our posts.

Labels: budget planner, budgeting, money saving