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THOUGHT OF THE WEEK
HOW TO MAKE THE BEST OUT OF YOUR FINANCES DURING THE FESTIVE
SEASON? (PART 1)
The best decision to make this festive season is to save for the season long before the decorations go up but at this point, the advice may be too late. There still some few tips you can look at.this helps you to prepare adequately.
1. Draw up a festival budget: Decide ahead of time how much you need to spend during the festive season. Note the expenses on decorations, gifts, food and beverages, travel spends (if any), to name a few. Once your budget is decided, eliminate any excess or unwanted expenses that will end up taking you beyond your limits. For example, if a lovely gift is running over budget, drop it and choose a more costeffective option, if possible, in the same category.
2. Buy within your means: During seasons like this, people sometimes find it difficult to resist deals with discount tags like ‘50% off’ etc. Nonetheless, the priority is to decide what you need or will be useful for gifting. Only thereafter should you consider the different deals available. If something is available for a bargain but is inappropriate for gifting, it simply erodes your spending power without benefitting you.
3. Note all expenses: A budget without recorded expenses will only be good on paper. Therefore, whether big or small, keep track of every single expense. Each week or at every stage, you will have a fair idea of the balance on your spending amount. The remainder can then be used more judiciously for other pending and priority things. Without recording your expenses, you may end up exhausting your funds while crucial items are yet to be purchased.
4. Compare diverse finance offerings: Given the multiplicity of offerings in the market, it's prudent to compare the different ones and identify the best option. Check the percentage of down payment you need to pay, the interest rates, the loan tenure and whether any processing fees are being charged, among others. Such queries will ascertain there are no hidden charges to inflate the cost of the final offering. …….. (To be continued)
Disclaimer
This weekly report is the copyright of NIMED Capital Ltd. (NIMED), an investment banking company licensed and regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (S.E.C.) of Ghana as Investment Advisers as well as the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (N.P.R.A.) as an approved Pension Fund Manager. Information and opinions herein have been compiled or arrived at based on information obtained from sources considered reliable; we therefore do not hold ourselves responsible for its completeness or accuracy. All statements of opinion, projections, forecasts, or those relating to expectations regarding future events or performance of investments represent NIMED’s own assessment and interpretation of information currently available to NIMED, which are subject to change.
