Only 10 Weekends Until Christmas. Is Your Budget Ready?

There are only 10 weekends until Christmas.

If you're paid monthly, that could mean just two or three paydays before Christmas Day. If you're paid fortnightly, it may only be around five.

And between presents, Christmas lunches, school wind-ups, holidays and all the little extras that creep in, December can get expensive very quickly.

So now is a good time to get ahead of it.

1. Set a Christmas budget before you start shopping

Start with one number.

How much can you comfortably afford to spend on Christmas without relying on credit cards or leaving yourself short in January? Then work backwards.

Include more than just presents. Think about:

• Christmas lunch
• gifts
• school and work events
• holidays
• travel
• entertaining
• extra groceries
• activities for the kids.

Christmas spending can add up quickly because so much of it happens in small amounts.

A plan now makes it much easier to stay in control later.

2. Start putting money aside now

Once you know your budget, divide it by the number of pays you have left.

If you want to spend $1,500 and have five fortnightly pays before Christmas, that works out to around $300 per pay.

If that feels too high, you know early enough to adjust the budget.

You could also set up a separate Christmas account or savings bucket and move money into it each payday.

It is much easier to enjoy Christmas when the money has already been put aside.

3. Check where your money is going

October is a good time for a quick household budget reset. Look through the last couple of months of bank statements and see what has crept in.

Subscriptions are an easy place to start. Streaming services, apps, memberships, delivery subscriptions and other small regular expenses can quietly add up.

You do not need to cut everything. The aim is simply to make sure your money is going towards things you actually use and value.

If you want some help mapping it all out, our Money by Design budgeting tool can help you break your spending into Essentials, Lifestyle, Goals and Future You.

4. Review your insurance and household bills

Insurance premiums often increase at renewal time. Check your:

• home and contents insurance
• car insurance
• health insurance
• landlord insurance, if applicable.

It may be worth comparing providers or reviewing your excess and level of cover.

The same goes for electricity, internet, mobile plans and other household bills.

You do not need to spend hours chasing tiny savings. Start with the bigger regular expenses first.

5. Check your home loan

For most homeowners, the mortgage is one of the biggest expenses in the household budget.

So if you are looking for savings, it makes sense to check there too. Look at:

• your current interest rate
• your monthly repayment
• any annual package fees
• whether you have an offset account
• whether you actually use the features you are paying for.

A home loan review in Perth does not automatically mean refinancing.

Sometimes another lender may be more competitive. Sometimes your existing lender may be able to improve your rate. And sometimes, after comparing everything, staying exactly where you are is still the best option.

The important thing is knowing. With rates on the move, our guide to the latest rate rise covers what to check.

6. Leave yourself something for January

This one matters. Try not to let Christmas wipe out your savings.

January has a habit of arriving with its own expenses. School supplies, uniforms, rates, insurance renewals, holidays and normal household bills do not disappear just because Christmas was expensive.

If you can, build a January buffer into your Christmas budget from the beginning. Your future self will appreciate it.

A little planning now can make December much easier

You do not need a perfect spreadsheet or a complicated financial plan. You just need to know what you can afford and where the money is coming from.

With 10 weekends to go, there is still plenty of time to:

• set a Christmas budget
• start saving each payday
• cut expenses you no longer need
• review your insurance and household bills
• check whether your home loan is still competitive
• leave yourself some breathing room for January.

A few small changes now can make Christmas feel much less stressful.

Need help getting your finances organised before Christmas?

At Mesh Finance, we help Perth families review their home loans and make sure their current lender, rate and loan structure still suit them.

If your mortgage has not been reviewed for a while, we can compare your current loan with suitable options and see whether there is anything worth changing.

And if you simply want to get a clearer picture of your household spending, start with our Money by Design budgeting tool.