'Tis the season to be savvy!

It’s not hard to get carried away with the celebration of Christmas. Between gifts, food, travel and other associated costs and the reality that bills don’t take holidays with us, this can leave many people strapped for cash. With family and friends coming together to join in the festivities, the last thing you want dampening your spirits is worrying whether you can make the next bill payment.

If you struggle to cope with the financial stress Christmas can bring, don’t worry – there are plenty of ways you can get prepared and get more bang for your buck!

Set saving goals

The best savings accounts are those that work your money for you. Accelerate your savings and achieve your financial goals for the Christmas period with one of Coastline’s high interest savings accounts. When it comes to maximising your return on your hard-earned savings, we have a few options you can choose from to meet these financial needs.

Don't let Christmas sneak up on you this year. Through Coastline's Christmas Club account, you can put a little away each week to take the stress out of the silly season. With no minimum balance required and no monthly service fees, simply set up credit splits, transfers or deposit money directly into your Christmas Club account and you can set yourself up for a stress-free Christmas.

Imagine if you put $20 away a week…you could save at least $1,040 for next Christmas! And that’s excluding the interest you could earn. Check out how much you can save using our savings calculator.

Set budget early

Have a think about how much Christmas costs you each year. Too much? Perhaps there’s some items you could do without to cut the costs.

Set yourself a budget for all expenses including gifts, food, decorations etc. For example, instead of spending $50 on gifts, cut it back to $20 and you can save 60% on presents! You can do this by shopping savvy, whether this be starting early in the months leading up to Christmas, using lay-buy or buying items that aren’t inflated seasonal prices.

You can also opt for surfing the web especially exploring online superstores to find some great deals but make sure you beat the rush! A lot of Aussies will be jumping on this bandwagon so don’t get caught up in the courier congestion.

Looking for an account to help you manage your budget even better? Check out our Budget Wise account. Budget Wise is an exciting new product exclusive to Coastline which offers a tailored solution to help manage your cash flow, removing the peaks and troughs that comes with bills. Say goodbye to bill stress and start enjoying the many benefits of bill smoothing.

Avoid the Christmas and New Year credit hangover

It’s all well and good to use credit to pay for certain purchases made for Christmas celebrations so long as you don’t go overboard with the spending. According to InfoChoice, almost half of all Aussies will fail to repay Christmas credit card spending within the interest free period (InfoChoice.com.au n.d).

Start the New Year debt-free. Be sure you’re aware of the interest-free period for purchases to avoid the headache of debt clouding your new year.

Make a list and check it twice

Creating lists of what you need to buy and food you need to prepare can help you divvy out your budget on what needs to be spent where. In turn, this will help you keep track of your spending and ensure Christmas won’t spiral you into financial hardship.

Jot down who you’re buying presents for, what you want to get them and how much you’re prepared to spend on each person. Remember gifts don’t need to be an expensive item and the best presents are ones that match the receiver’s interests! Nobody likes last minutes gifts…

List the food and drink items you need. We tend to go a bit overboard on these when it comes to Christmas. Think about it…you’re having leftovers from Christmas days after, right? You can also buy in advance to save where you can, especially on items that can be frozen or have a long shelf life. 

Please note

Coastline's Christmas Club account is locked between 1st February and 31st October and if you need to withdraw these funds, you will be penalised an early withdrawal fee of $10. However, you will be able to access these funds freely between 1st November to 31st January.