Your financial guide to surviving the festive season

December is an expensive time of year for all of us. Christmas gifts for friends and family need to be bought, holidays paid for and of course festive season entertainment does not come cheap! For a lot of people it is difficult to resist the temptation to dip into their December pay cheque and spend the money they need to cover January's expenses. Like all things in life a little planning goes a long way. Read on for our festive season financial survival guide.

For many of us January is a long month as we wait for our next pay cheque to fill the gaping hole in our bank accounts. Here is some advice for beating the January financial blues: 

1. Start saving for Christmas as early as possible in the year. Put away a small amount of money every month towards festive season expenses
2. Budget, budget, budget! Work out exactly how much you want to spend on gifts for each person and stick to that amount
3. Do not take your bank cards with you when you go shopping. Take only the cash that you have allocated for gifts
4. Remember, Christmas is about holiday, relaxation and spending much-needed time with friends and family. In these tough economic times, resist the temptation to splash out on expensive festive season meals and decorations
5. Consider a Secret Santa for family members. This is how it works: put the name of each family member into a hat. Each person draws the name of one family member and buys a gift for only that person
6. Consider giving homemade gifts. For example, if you are an expert in the kitchen bake delicious biscuits and cakes for friends and family. You could also consider giving gifts of service, for example babysitting for a friend or housesitting for a family member. By carefully planning your festive season expenses you should have the money that you need to cover January's expenses and save yourself a lot of credit card debt!

Note: Please remember that if you miss a 1Lifedirect premium payment in January your policy will immediately lapse. For example, if you miss a 1Lifedirect Funeral Cover policy payment and a policy member passes away their funeral expenses will not be covered by 1Lifedirect. The same applies to your Pure Life Cover, Disablement Cover and Dread Disease Cover policies.