Although the happiness and joy of the festivities is unmatched, the outcome of not planning our money during this time can affect personal finance in later months.
October and November months are tantamount with festivity, as it brings together friends and families for main Hindu festivals like Durga puja, Dussehra and Diwali. Although the bliss and pleasure of this festive season is unmatched, the consequence of not preparing our capital during this period can affect personal finance in the later months.
Below are a few points to remember this Diwali–
1) Plan out the non-committed expenses
While preparing our monthly budget, we normally account for spending in the form of EMIs, children’s teaching and other customary household expenditures. We are likely to overlook planning for non-committed spending like shopping for clothes and gifts, travelling costs, spending on Diwali and other festive celebrations, outings with friends and family during this time. If we don’t plan efficiently, we are likely to end up overspending during the festive season. One must also refrain from unnecessary credit card use during this period.
2) Prepare a festive financial plan
For Diwali, we are inclined to purchase gold, new clothes and fireworks. Prepare a festive financial plan that lists all the allied costs like fireworks, new clothes, sweets and anything else that we are prone to spend on during this season. Set budget boundaries for each item and don’t shell out more than the particular limit for each category. This guarantees that our festive expenses are under control.
3) Exchange and loan offers
There are a range of exchange offers on products, during Diwali. These schemess range from exchanging our old cookware, and other domestic items like refrigerators, television sets for the brand new ones at discounted prices. We finish up indulging in such unexpected spending, as to most of us, these offers appear too good to be genuine to overlook. Around Diwali, a whole swarm of offers and discounts exist on purchasing cars; even special interest rates on loans are offered. But, we frequently fall short to calculate the result of such individual monetary decisions on the combined personal finance front. Such buying enticed by discounts and various offers can affect the annual household budget. Be an intelligent shopper by assessing the requirements with the deals in the market. All our buying must be determined by requirement rather than the discounts being offered.
4) Diwali bonus
The gratuity received by majority of the workers is timed around Diwali. We frequently prepare our festive budget around the bonus we get. Yet, we have to make sure that savings also form a part of our plans around the bonus. Set a boundary on the sum of bonus to utilize for festive expenses. Particularly, in view of the fact that tax declarations are to be made in the previous months, one has to make provisions for tax saving investments using the bonus money received. Our joyful times during the festive period must not be trailed by fiscal despairs in the months ahead in the figure of enlarged credit card payments or EMI payments. The festive budget must be planed economically taking into account the above talked about aspects.
