scorecardresearchExcited about Diwali shopping? Here’s how you can splurge without denting

Excited about Diwali shopping? Here’s how you can splurge without denting your financial plans

Updated: 24 Oct 2022, 09:56 AM IST
TL;DR.

Diwali is a time to spend money, buy new clothes, gadgets and what not. But the festival can also leave a huge hole in your pocket. There are simple ways one can use to make sure your financial plans aren't dented with those Diwali spendings.

Tips on how you should celebrate your festive season being financially stable and sound

Tips on how you should celebrate your festive season being financially stable and sound

Whenever any festive season comes, especially Diwali, we only hear sounds like exchange offers, heavy discounts, prizes, coupons, buy one get one free, and many more. These noises are so loud that we usually forget to hear the voices that are coming from our upcoming financial instability.

This Diwali, we need to focus more on our finances as it is an inflationary Diwali. We need to celebrate the festival in a way that it won’t affect our financial status no matter what. Here are few tips that will help you in protecting your money:

Create a budget

Prevailing inflation rates and difficulty in managing personal finance make us realise the concept of “Budgeting and tracking your expenses becomes as necessary as earning money”. This Diwali, it would be better if you have a look at your budget thoroughly, and track your spending habits. Spend money on celebrating Diwali only under your budget.

Don’t make yourself debtfull

Due to easy availability of credit and loans, we become habitual of buying anything on EMI. We spend by listening to the concept of No Cost EMI, but they actually cost you the whole price plus processing fee. Being debt free as much as possible is the best Diwali gift you can give to yourselves and your family.

Don’t over spend

During Diwali, it seems like everything is cheap, you can save by buying it. But it is just a misconception, you are just spending, not saving. Keep yourselves away from buying useless things, which means, that are not adding value to your life in any way, whether mentally or financially.

For example, buying garments that you are going to use in your daily life is good. But buying garments that are overly expensive and do not add value to your daily life, i.e., you are buying for the sake of maintaining your social status, it is totally a waste of money.

Buy assets not double liabilities

Yes, we tend to buy double liabilities when we don’t think before spending. Let’s understand how:

For instance you are buying a car this Diwali on EMI and not planning to make passive income out of it, you are buying double liability. First, it is a depreciable asset, which means its market value will reduce as you use your car, no matter how less you use it. Second, you are buying it on EMI, so you have to pay interest on it. This is how you are creating double liability on yourselves as it is not creating any secondary income.

Always calculate what would be more preferable to you for now financially. Make a comparison between alternative methods with buying an item, like cost of renting a car as per your and family’s utility and cost of buying a car. Buying only when it is less expensive than renting it.

Buy from local vendors

Buying Diwali items from local vendors instead of buying it from a big departmental stores have two advantages:

  1. You will get beautiful items like diya, lights, etc., at discounted rates than bug stores and you can also have a negotiation power.
  2. Inflation has affected small vendors more than big stores and us. Buying from them makes their Diwali happy too.

By keeping all the above-mentioned aspects in your mind, you can make your Diwali full of lights and others as well.

Anushka Trivedi is a freelance financial content writer. She can be reached at anushkatrivedi.com

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First Published: 14 Oct 2022, 01:28 PM IST