Smart Strategies To Safeguard Your Wallet This Festive Season
On one side when the festive season comes with a boom to the aggregate economy, it also brings a number of expenses to the people where individuals overspend and goes out of their pocket to fulfil the necessities and desire of their family members.
This overspending often leads people to take debts and personal loans and eventually into financial stress. Hence, festive budgeting is crucial to ensure that you can enjoy the season without jeopardising your financial well-being. Let us explore why festive budgeting is important and gather insights from financial experts on how to go about it.
Rahul Jyothi Kumaran, Sundaram Finance, GM and Head – Distribution, suggested, “Budget Well in Advance, Save for it monthly and stick to the plan. Try to cut down the expenses over decoration, and reuse them. Start Saving Early and don't wait until the last moment for the festivals to arrive. Strongly recommend setting aside a portion of our income each month as a “Festival Fund”. Most importantly be wary of using credit card schemes, buy now and pay later inducements:
He also added that financial mindfulness during festivals is the true celebration of abundance. It's not about how much you spend, but how well you spend it.
In order to maintain economic equilibrium, investment in the right direction is very much significant. Earlier, when people did not know about fixed deposits and mutual funds, gold was the best asset to invest in.
Regarding the investment in gold, Rajesh Shet Co-founder & CEO SahiBandhu, said, “In a world filled with enticing festive offers and extravagant celebrations, allocating a dedicated fund for festivities works as a financial roadmap, ensuring you enjoy the celebrations without worrying about overspending. For GenZs & Millenials, I’d encourage them to invest some money in gold as it is not only an emotional asset, but it can also serve as a hedge against economic uncertainty and inflation, preserving wealth over time and providing portfolio diversification.”
Overspending during the festival season of an individual is often similar to how other people spend. Therefore, one needs to be mindful of his limits and practise thoughtful budgeting.
Talking about the same, Rishi Piparaiya, a Finance Expert, said, “Setting a budget beforehand is the best way to protect yourself from unnecessary overspending. Prioritize the events and experiences that are important, allocate budgets to those and hold back on anything optional. And then ensure that you are disciplined about adhering to it. Track your expenses regularly and make timely course corrections instead of regretting once the festivities are over.”
For festive budgeting, Harish Parmar, Founder of SingleDebtFor the sake of winning the race, people eventually choose to go for personal loans and end up strangling into deeper chains. Piparaiya also added that as far as possible, firmly say no to loans to finance festive expenses; only spend money you already have. Personal debt comes with high-interest rates, EMIs, and huge charges, and it can take a long time to get out of this debt trap.
Get into the holiday spirit without spending too much as the season approaches. To manage funds while enjoying activities, and is better to emphasize the need for budgeting during this time. Many options exist to enjoy the holidays without overspending. Make a reasonable, financial-friendly budget first.
Vikas Singh, Chief Collection Officer, Propelld also commented, "Try to avoid using credit cards unreasonably during the holidays. If you do use it, make sure you can pay it back timely to avoid high-interest rates."
Jewellery is the large section where most of the money goes in during festivals as Diwali is the festival of wealth. Therefore one needs to be vigilant enough to look around multiple offers and select the jewellery wisely.
Deepali Vijay Jain, Founder, and Chairwoman of DiamondXE, said, “In the context of the jewellery industry, making the right choice for your diamonds or jewellery during the festive season is an exciting and important decision. While celebrations are in full swing, it's crucial to maintain financial prudence. The need for a balanced approach – enjoying the beauty of diamonds while being mindful of your finances.”
Life before and after the festivities need to be balanced then only one can celebrate fully. Overspending will not only harm, economic equilibrium but also lead to the situation of financial stress that one should avoid.
