As the new month approaches, India is entering its festival season. Traditionally, it starts with Bakrid and Raksha Bandhan, which is followed by Janmashtami, Ganesh Chaturthi, Diwali, and so on, until Christmas and New Year.
Compared to past years when we were able to freely go out and spend our money on shopping and splurging, this year has been quite different. The effects of the pandemic are wreaking havoc on our lives, and we are reeling under the weight of chaos caused by this disease. In spite of that, these festivals are part of our traditional way of life, and we would be remiss not to celebrate them in some small way, even if they merely bring a sense of normalcy to our lives.
You should read on to learn more about how you can save money on all of the upcoming festivals you can attend by following our money-saving tips.
Budget your festival based on your finances
Definitely! Creating a budget is the first step. As opposed to previous years where you could have had a blast at the festivals, the current situation calls for a little restraint in terms of partying around them. So, regardless of how boring and old-fashioned it sounds, setting a budget for festival spending is an important step that needs to be done.
Creating a budget requires that you take into consideration your current financial situation. When you have financial difficulties, it is very likely that you will have to cut back your festival expenses in order to be able to support your festival participation.
Consider how things will unfold for you in the near future, and be realistic about it. How stable is your income? Does the industry in which you are employed have the ability to withstand the economic shocks that may occur? Before you spend your money, you should ask yourself some of these questions.
Split expenses between festivals
In the coming months, we will have a long list of festivals to look forward to. It may be a good idea for you to spread out your expenses across a few festivals, depending on how your current financial situation is. Would you like to know how this could be accomplished? Those are the things we tell you.
For example, if you often purchase clothes and gifts for everyone in your family during each holiday, you might want to split the cost across the holidays. Some people could receive gifts during the first festival, while others could get them during the second festival.
Similarly, you should start accumulating funds now so you can buy home appliances or gadgets for Diwali/Christmas if you intend to do so. It might also be a good idea to opt for EMIs when buying a big-ticket item.
All you have to do is tweak a few things and you will be able to do almost everything you normally do while at the festivals.
Shop online and offline
Recent months have seen the economic struggle. There will be surplus stock lying around at both online and offline retailers from the previous season. The clearance sales are taking place both online and offline.
Your holiday shopping would be more enjoyable if you scout for some good deals. Check Reviews of the products and compare prices among various online stores before making a purchase online. The month of August is going to be a great time for shopping festivals, as Amazon and Flipkart are both launching big sales.
If you choose the offline route, you might get better deals in smaller stores since they have suffered the most. As a way of getting their businesses back on track, they may be ready to offer some discounts.
Organize a DIY festival
For example, Rakhis are associated with Rakshabandhan, Ganesha idols are associated with Chathurti, earthen lamps are associated with Diwali, and Christmas trees and decorations are associated with Christmas.
As a matter of convenience, you may have become accustomed to buying all these items for the festival. But what if you incorporated a little bit of DIY into your celebration? The task won’t be as challenging as you think.
In addition to making a Ganesha from the soil in your garden and decorating it with trinkets available at home, you can paint some earthen lamps using poster colors, make a paper lantern, and make a flower carpet for Onam using flowers from your garden. Furthermore, these methods are eco-friendly and will give you immense satisfaction.
You can also incorporate all your family members into these projects over the weekend. For the festivities, you could even go a step further and create interesting outfits by designing your own, recycling or upcycling your older clothes. With a little creativity, you can come up with anything.
It is impossible to have a festival without food. Store-bought goodies became increasingly popular for festivals due to a hectic work schedule and convenience. There are no health benefits to them, nor are they cheap.
Since COVID 19, we have been focusing on health, hygiene, and immunity. Isn’t it worth reducing your store-bought food expenses and starting to prioritize homemade foods?
What are the ways you fund festive expenses?
It seems as if the future is unpredictable. So, we recommend not going overboard with our spending and tightening our purse strings. In a perfect world, you should use your savings or current income to pay for the festivals.
In case of a cash crunch, you may also want to consider a personal loan. The important thing is to be sure that you will be able to repay the loan and that it does not overburden your budget on a monthly basis.
Put reward points or vouchers to use
A lot of people use credit cards/cobranded debit cards. Use these cards with their partners to earn reward points or get discounts. If you have unused vouchers, you might be able to use them. This is the right time to pull it out and see what they can do for your festival shopping budget. If you have a discount or a voucher, we strongly advise against spending on something just because it has a discount.