This article was translated from our Spanish edition using AI technologies. Errors can occur because of this process.
The opinions of entrepreneurs’ contributors are their own.
End of year . There is already a smell of punch and Christmas dinner, the resolutions for the new year begin and the long-awaited Christmas present comes for your well-deserved commitment, but do you know what to do with it?
In addition to thinking about buying gifts and spending them on year-end promotions, some also decide to pay off debts. According to a study by CONDUSEF: 90% of Mexicans are considering using their Christmas bonus to pay off debt, but only 35% stick to it and the rest are affected in their finances.
How often have you said: “I’ll start my diet on Monday” or “I’ll save this year”, “Now I’ll pay all my debts”? But this Monday never comes.
If you answered yes to these questions, calm down, you are not the only one, you just need a little more structure and that’s why I give you these recommendations on what to do and NOT to do when you receive your Christmas bonus:
WHAT YOU SHOULD NOT DO
- Fall into temptation: you will be surrounded by offers, promotions, months of no interest. Be careful! Avoid buying things you don’t need – no matter how cheap they are.
- Take on New Debt: If you are out of debt, do not worry about complications. Start 2020 with healthy finances and forget about the hassle of payments.
- Compulsory purchase: Get only what you need, if you didn’t plan to buy something, don’t.
- Spend everything on Christmas gifts: Lots of people buy gifts like they’re Santa Claus, but don’t worry, it’s not you. I recommend, “If you want to show love to your loved ones, you can give them something that is made for you and that won’t affect your finances”.
- Credit Card Abuse: If you have already considered buying certain things but realized that you are not enough to buy everything with cash, use your credit card, but the author recalls that we shouldn’t abuse it and You Must Pay Specifically Notice the Interest Free Months Trick.
- Little by little: If you do not have in the back of your mind what you are going to spend your money on, do not reach for it “little by little”, because as the saying goes: The water runs out drop by drop … and so does your money.
- Allocate All of the Money to One Cause: Don’t use all of your Christmas bonus to buy things you don’t need unless you want to pay off your debt or invest.
- Lending: Many people take advantage of the fact that everyone has money and start borrowing so they can spend more. I recommend that you only lend money when you don’t need it and think that “money you lend is money you give away”.
- Spend: If you don’t need it, don’t buy it, not because you have money, you have to spend it.
- Make emotional purchases: It is like temptation. Don’t get carried away with the flashy offers that make you buy things that you think you need right now and later find out that only your emotions get you carried away.
WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO
- Paying Off Debts: Before you get into any more debt, try to pay off your debts. If you only have one debt, try paying it off once and for all if you have more than one, prepaying it, or reducing your debt. I assure you that you can start the year with peace of mind.
- Investing: The best part about having money is you can make it grow. If you’re not an investment expert and want to learn one of your New Year’s resolutions, the author recommends starting at CETES (and you can do this for as little as $ 100).
- Continue Your Resolutions: Is the year ending and you haven’t fulfilled any of your resolutions? If you wanted to go on a trip, take a course, or buy something, but had neither the chance nor the money, take advantage of your Christmas bonus and make sure you don’t end the year without completing at least one.
- Think Ahead: If you are not managing your money well, remember that January is coming and if you don’t prevent yourself, your finances can be affected and January can become the toughest month of the year. So think ahead.
- Separate needs and wants: Before you go shopping at the end of the year, make a list and organize it according to the needs you really have and discard what you “think you need” (but not) to need.
- Have a backup: include it in your budget, save a little bit of your Christmas bonus for any unforeseen events that occur on these dates.
- Compare: In many stores, whenever there is a mass shopping season, they take the opportunity to raise their prices and make some “offers”. Don’t buy from the start, rather compare prices and choose the one that suits you best.
- Make a budget: split your Christmas bonuses so you know how much you’re going to be spending what, plan your finances for that year-end, and keep your money from going where you least expected it.
- Reward yourself: the bonus is the result of your efforts throughout the year, part of it is worth using to buy what you want, but remember, only part.
- Take care of your money: it is your money and nobody is taking care of it for you. Take responsibility for management and healthy finances.
If you’ve done more things in the past few years that you should NOT be doing than with your Christmas bonus, it is time to generate the necessary changes before the end of the year.
And so that this doesn’t happen to you again, I recommend starting today that you assign a target to every peso that comes in your pocket.
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