Home: How to set a household budget for the festive season 

We share advice on how to be savvy about your spending in the run-up to, during and beyond Christmas 

A basic budget can help you keep track of your spending, and it limits impulse purchases.

We consult the Money Advice & Budgeting Service (MABS) for top tips on how to set your budget ahead of the festive season.

Make a list of all the items that you intend to buy over Christmas. Allocate how much money you are going to spend on each and stick to it as closely as possible.

Set your credit limit if you need to borrow to cover your Christmas costs. Decide how much you are going to borrow and where you will borrow from.

Consider consolidating your debt by using a personal loan to combine a number of smaller debts into one single debt, to help make repayments easier. Alternatively, consider using a single form of credit over multiple lenders.

Research your finance options based on how much you need to borrow and the total cost of credit, (including the interest rate). Visit ccpc.ie to compare credit card and loan interest rates in just a few simple clicks.

Check the T&Cs of "buy now pay later" credit options. If you miss a payment, you may be charged a late payment fee which will increase the cost of what you bought. Missed payments can lead to a negative credit rating.

Make a New Year repayments plan by working out what repayments are due on what date. Try to pay off any debt as quickly as possible because the longer the repayments period, the more it will cost you in interest. Prioritise paying the debt that has the highest interest rate.

​Contact the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS) for help in taking control of your debt mabs.ie.

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