The holiday season is back! And somehow even with all the excitement, you can't help feeling a little anxious about the added expense.
New clothes, jewellery, gifts, sweets, holidays... everything is going to cost plenty of money. But don't kill that festive spirit by fretting. All you need is an effective shopping plan and you are ready to go.
Give a little
You just can't escape the gifts during the holiday season. But if you are wondering how you are going to manage the added expense, here are a couple of tips to help you plan your gifting effectively.
Plan a budget
Plan a realistic budget. Don't just put aside Rs 10,000 for gifts. You need to know the exact number of gifts and the approximate cost of each of them. So here's what you do.
List out all the people you need to give gifts to. Assign a budget to each person on your list. For instance, your budget for mom might be Rs 3000 while for your hubby's friend's kid it might be just Rs 500.
With actual budgets for each person you will know what you can expect to buy and can then shop at the right places. You will be saving both time and money.
Shop in bulk
Since you are buying gifts for so many people, this is the best time to make use of 'Buy 2 Get 1 Free' offers, 50 per cent discounts etc. But make sure not to give the same items to two people form the same household.
Make sure you get your gifts wrapped at the store itself so you don't have to buy your own wrapping paper and spend more money.
But if that's not possible, pick up a whole lot of wholesale wrapping paper for about Rs 3 a sheet. The same sheets would cost about you Rs 10 each at a local store. And while you are at it, pick up gift cards in bulk as well.
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Send e-greetings
This year go the e-way and send e-greetings instead of postal cards. They don't cost a thing and are available in so much variety too. From interactive greeting cards to musical ones, you can take your pick from an assorted range.
Send postal cards only to your family and closest friends. A decent greeting card from Archies or Hallmark will not cost you less than Rs.30 and postage is about Rs 11 to Rs 15 per card. So if instead you send out 10 e-cards this year, you can save about Rs 450.
Cut costs where you can
If you don't have the budget for it, don't buy that 24 carat gold necklace. Never feel compelled by others or even custom to live beyond your means. Instead go with a new saree and use your last year's jewellery to complement it.
Also, it will fall much cheaper to buy readymade clothes (unless from a designer showroom) than to stitch. Fabrics can be very expensive and a good tailor will charge you a bomb. Besides, everyone will be getting clothes stitched, so if you want yours on time you will have to really be an early bird.
Thinking of buying a brand new plasma TV for Rs 84,000? An electronic store has advertised an easy EMI facility of Rs 7000 for a year. What more could you ask for, right?
Well, if the plasma TV is beyond what you can afford at the moment, don't buy it. Period. And no it is not okay to live a little when it comes to luxury goods. Remember, a loan for a luxury that is not an asset is going to burn holes in your pockets.
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We're all going on a holiday...
If you are travelling abroad this holiday season, here are some things you need to keep in mind.
Not duty free
Very often electronics are far cheaper abroad than in India. So this holiday season if you are travelling abroad, you might consider picking up an iPod for your teenage son or a laptop for your hubby.
"On my last trip to the United States, I picked up a laptop for myself and my daughter. I got them back as used items. I carried my own and my daughter carried the other one with her because if you carry back more than one laptop, you have to pay duty," says Sameera D'Cruz.
Are you overweight?
It is great to pack your suitcases till they are almost bursting open. But it is not so great when you are charged a hefty sum for the excess weight, says Erica Parelkar, who has learned the hard way. So make sure you have the suitcases weighed once you finish packing.
If you find that you are a little overweight, throw away some of the packing. Cardboard boxes, thermocol padding etc. not only add weight but also take up space unnecessarily.
Mental math
This one is rather obvious but needs to be mentioned all the same. Always, and we repeat, always do the mental conversion from the currency of that place into Indian rupees. This way you will know if what you are buying is worth it or you are being ripped off.
Renée Lewis, who frequently travels with her family abroad, narrates a funny incident that occurred in Switzerland.
"We were out shopping when my daughter rushed excitedly out of a store screaming she had found a beautiful watch that cost only Rs 300. We thought to ourselves 'This is impossible!', but followed her in anyway. We discovered that the watch cost 9000 francs, which was about Rs 2,70,000 (1 franc = Rs 30). We got the shock of our lives, she laughs.
Apparently, Renee's daughter had calculated it as Re 1 = 30 francs!
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