With the year fast winding down and Christmas a few days from now, have you started preparing for the festivities?

Christmas is that time of the year that swallows up a huge chunk of our money leaving most of us apprehensive as the New Year approaches. It is common to hear people lament being broke in January, but this doesn’t have to be so for you if you follow these tips.

1. Be organized

Know what you want to spend money on and create a budget to match your planned expenses. If you’ll be gifting people or travelling, find out the cost and factor that into your budget too along with any other plans you may have. Then ensure that you stick to your budget to avoid overspending.

2. Start shopping now

By now, you should already have the list of all you plan to buy, start buying them gradually. Pick a few items to buy each week. This way, you’ll find that you are not overwhelmed when the week of Christmas comes. Knowing how prices get hiked during festivities, you will be thanking your lucky stars that you shopped early.

3. Book flight and bus tickets in advance

Fares typically shoot up from the first week in December, so you might want to book your tickets before then. Save that extra cash, you’ll definitely be needing it.

4. Brave Black Friday sales

If you like discounts and you’re not afraid of the crowd, then you should look forward to November 24 with joy. Take advantage of the decent discounts and know exactly what you want to buy and how much you plan to spend. Don’t get carried away by all the amazing cheap stuff on sale to avoid falling into a trap disguised as a deal. Stay focused on your goal, which is cutting down cost ahead of Christmas.

5. Call your tailor now

If you’ve committed to wearing ‘asoebi’ for someone’s celebration this Christmas or have plans to sew outfits for yourself, now is the time to get that piece of material to your tailor if you haven’t done that yet.

Don’t wait until tailors are fully booked and you have to pay extra for ‘express’ sewing. Remember that when ‘seasonal sewing’ start, tailors too hike their prices.

6. Save the extras

Planning now for Christmas by following these tips means you’ll have some extra money. But don’t get tempted to spend it all on some fancy desire you really don’t need. How about saving for your future or that of those you care about in mind? Remember, every little bit counts. Instead of looking for one big way to save a ton of money, save in lots of small ways like the above listed and like little drops, it will make a mighty financial ocean when you need it most.