As you approach August you know that the summers are gone and you are midway between the rains and yes the festival season is here! Here onwards its one festival after another till you hit the New Year and get ready for the winters. Well it is all fun and celebration; but what about the finances? Just like you need to go slow on the festival food you need to be careful about your financial planning and cannot let it go over the top. So let us get ready for the festival season ahead.

Have a Budget in Place:

The most important thing for any financial venture or aim to be successful is to have a budget in place and then stick to it. While we all love celebrations, buying new stuff and giving gifts to our loved ones but remember while choices are unlimited finances sadly are limited.  Thus one needs a budget in place; you can budget how much you want to spend on each festival overall or you could go into details like how much you want to spend on gifts and how much on buying new things for you home and so on.

Tip: Things always turn out to be more expensive than you thought them to be in so factor in a 5% to 10% for that in your budget.

Leave something for the Next One Too!

It is not just one festival it is a series of them one after another. So don’t go overboard on spending on one festival, just to realize that you have nothing left for the next one. This should be taken care of ideally at the budgeting stage only; if it has been done then stick to it and don’t overindulge on one occasion. If you have just set aside a lump sum amount for expenditure for all festivals then prioritize it; on what occasion you need to spend more and on what you can afford to spend less.

Tip: If you have overshot your budget on one occasion, do cut corners in the next one. You could take up some DIY options for decoration, gifting etc.

Keep a Look Out for Deals and Discounts:

Most retailers, electronic goods companies and shopping outlets offer lucrative deals to lure customers. Since the choice is enormous, not to forget the online deals one can utilize these deals to find the right one for you and also save some money in the process. The right way here is to be sure of what you want to buy and then keep a lookout for various pamphlets that you get, advertisements and so many alerts that you get on your mail and phone. One should not focus only on the cost only but after sales services or other freebies or bundled up offers you get.

Tip: While the deals may be lucrative, don’t buy things that are on offer just because they cost lesser then before; you will end up spending more than you budgeted for.

Credit Card May not Be Your Best Friend: 

Though the credit card may seem like a great convenience during the festival season as you can spend now and pay later but remember it is not! During festival season temptations are high and one can always be led into believing that it is best to enjoy and splurge now and one can pay later but remember we discussed about the budget in the first point. When using the credit card focus on how much you can pay at the end of the cycle and also on the credit utilization ratio. Piled up bills at the end of the month can be a cause of big worry and can also cause problems with the credit rating. Even the option of converting the big expenditures to EMI should be taken with a lot of thought.

Tip: If possible get the credit limit enhanced before the festival season but still stick to the budget. A bigger limit will take care of the high credit utilization ratio.

So get ready for the holiday season and be financially prepared to enjoy it without compromising on your financial health or having piled up bills at the end of the month.

(Contributed by Rajiv Raj, Director & Co-Founder at Creditvidya.com)