{"id":1121,"date":"2017-03-28T10:01:40","date_gmt":"2017-03-28T08:01:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.namfisa.com.na\/educates\/?post_type=right_responsibility&p=1121"},"modified":"2025-07-21T10:52:07","modified_gmt":"2025-07-21T08:52:07","slug":"money-sense-easy-ways-to-save-money-this-festive-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.namfisa.com.na\/educates\/money-sense-easy-ways-to-save-money-this-festive-season\/","title":{"rendered":"Money Sense: Easy Ways to Save Money This Festive Season"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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HOW TO PROTECT YOUR FINANCES THIS DECEMBER<\/h3><\/span><\/div>
There are ways to protect your finances this December,\nso that January doesn\u2019t feel like the month that never ends.\nFollow these handy tips to enjoy the festive season sensibly.<\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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1. BUDGET<\/h3><\/span><\/div>
Draw up a budget to determine what you can spend on entertainment, presents and other items. Stick to\nthis if you want to remain in control of your finances. Make sure you understand how much money you\nreally have to spend this holiday season. Have your bank statements at hand and be honest about what\nyou\u2019ll have left after your regular monthly expenses. Don\u2019t cheat by including how much you expect to\nget from a 13th cheque or annual bonus \u2013 if you are lucky enough to get a bonus, see it as just that, not\na guaranteed way to get through the month.<\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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1. BUDGET<\/h3><\/span><\/div>
Draw up a budget to determine what you can spend on entertainment, presents and other items. Stick to\nthis if you want to remain in control of your finances. Make sure you understand how much money you\nreally have to spend this holiday season. Have your bank statements at hand and be honest about what\nyou\u2019ll have left after your regular monthly expenses. Don\u2019t cheat by including how much you expect to\nget from a 13th cheque or annual bonus \u2013 if you are lucky enough to get a bonus, see it as just that, not\na guaranteed way to get through the month.\n\n

\nMake a list of all your expected expenses \u2013 accommodation, entertainment, gifts, extra fuel - this\nholiday and make sure you know where the money for all of this will come from. If there\u2019s a shortfall,\ndecide where you will have to scale back.<\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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2. SHUN CREDIT<\/h3><\/span><\/div>
\nIn the run-up to Christmas, also be wary of deals that entice you to buy on credit. Don\u2019t get distracted\nby \u201cno deposit\u201d deals as these can often end up costing you far more in interest repayments over the\nlonger term.\n

\nIt may make you feel better for a short while to splash out on feel-good gifts for your family, but\nremember that you\u2019ll be left with a high price to pay at the end of it. If you fail to keep up with your\nrepayments, you could lose your most valuable assets, including your home and car.\n

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3. GIFTS<\/h3><\/span><\/div>
When buying gifts, keep to your spending limits with the \u201cenvelope strategy\u201d. Decide with your partner\nand family members how much you will spend on specific budget items (like gifts and entertainment).\nDraw that money in cash and put the exact amount into sealed envelopes. No plastic, no extra cash, just\nthe maximum amount you are prepared to spend. This should go a long way to ensuring you stick to the\n

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4. AVOIDING JANUWORRY(BUDGET CONTINUED)<\/h3><\/span><\/div>
When you go shopping for presents, go with nothing more than the envelopes.\n

\n\nSAVING FOR JANUARY\n
\nOverspending in December wouldn\u2019t be that much of an issue if January wasn\u2019t such an expensive\nmonth. We often forget that we still have to pay household accounts such as lights and water in the next\nyear and will need to pay for other costs such as uniforms and school fees. Start setting money aside for\nall the additional start-of-the-year expenses early in the previous year.<\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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5. FOOD<\/h3><\/span><\/div>
Food prices at holiday destinations can be expensive and the price of meat usually shoots up during\nDecember. Try to plan your menus before you go on holiday, taking potentially expensive non-\nperishable items and frozen meat with you.<\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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6. CAR<\/h3><\/span><\/div>
Car trouble over December will wreck your budget. Service your car before you go on holiday. Also,\ngiven the alarming road accidents, it may be wise to consider taking out cover, to pay for costs not\ncovered by your medical scheme and may cover a number of expenses in case of an accident.<\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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7. DON\u2019T TAKE A HOLIDAY FROM YOUR PROBLEMS<\/h3><\/span><\/div>
If you have a problem with debt, don\u2019t put off dealing with it until the New Year, when there\u2019s a rush of\ncrisis-stricken people on creditors. Speak to your bank and try to negotiate a repayment schedule or talk\nto a debt counsellor and see if they can help you.<\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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8. START PLANNING FOR DECEMBER<\/h3><\/span><\/div>
The best way to ensure that you won\u2019t overspend in the festive season is by saving for it. Use a monthly\ndebit order to put away an amount to use for end-of-the-year expenses. Or start a stokvel with friends\n

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\u2013 peer pressure can be more effective than self-discipline. Every month each member contributes an amount, which is shared at the end of the year. Booking and paying your holiday early in the year will also be cheaper and stock up on Christmas gifts throughout the year at sales.<\/blockquote>\n\nSource: www.sanlam.co.na<\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

HOW TO PROTECT YOUR FINANCES THIS DECEMBER There are ways to protect your finances this December, so that January doesn\u2019t feel like the month that never ends. Follow these handy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[425],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1121","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-rights-and-responsibilities"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.namfisa.com.na\/educates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1121","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.namfisa.com.na\/educates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.namfisa.com.na\/educates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.namfisa.com.na\/educates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.namfisa.com.na\/educates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1121"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.namfisa.com.na\/educates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1121\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36029,"href":"https:\/\/www.namfisa.com.na\/educates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1121\/revisions\/36029"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.namfisa.com.na\/educates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1121"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.namfisa.com.na\/educates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1121"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.namfisa.com.na\/educates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1121"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}