Before the autumn leaves have even fallen of the trees, Facebook is already inundated with status updates around the country kicking off the countdown to Christmas! This tends to put the dreaded thought into everyone’s minds that soon a large chunk of their hard earned wages will be allocated to buying presents for friends and family. Thinking about putting a portion of you weekly or monthly wages away in advance for Christmas expenses is of course a great idea, but what about the time ‘after’ Christmas?

Many people will scrimp and save as much cash as they can for the festive season, but many will also forget about that familiar and often worrying period of time between Boxing Day until your next payday in January. This often leaves many with little money in their pockets, and dreading the time when they have to check their bank accounts as many will just know that they will either be well into their overdraft, have their card limits maxed out or worse see that dreaded ‘Insufficient Funds’ message at the cash machine. Besides, with all the instant payday loans being offered, anyone getting into an unwanted situation with their money always has that to fall back on.

So, just how do you get the best of both worlds and find that balance of not only being able to have a fabulous Christmas, give gifts to your loved ones, and still have money left in your account afterwards to be able to hit the January sales or go wild on New Year’s Eve with your friends? The answer is simple, cut back and start saving now – here is how:

Firstly, take a look at how much money you actually have left, and then take a look at how much money you have coming in between now and you first payday in January. You should also make a note of any fixed outgoings you have coming up between now and the time that your January pay is due.

Total all of your outgoings up, this includes your rent or mortgage, bills such as electric – bearing in mind that you most likely have the heating on full whack as we all know the UK is usually freezing during this time, and any other outgoings including that monthly hair appointment – and no, a payday loan for a haircut is not an option!

You will then be able to see which bills are vital; these will usually include your bills, rent and credit obligations. You will also be able to see outgoings which are not as vital, such as that hair appointment. It is these non-vital outgoings that you can easily try to cut down on. For instance, say you spend £50 on clothes a week, try to cut down or skip a few weeks and save this cash you would have usually spent for other things such as the sales in January.

Also look at trying to put away even a little bit of cash away each week, even if it only £10 between now and the New year it will all mount up giving you a tidy sum of money to spend after Christmas! By cutting back on non vital outgoings, and saving what you would have spent you will be able to join your friends entering the New Year with enough money to have a brilliant worry free time.