Beware the December pay trap!

EssexHebridean

Peb a lot of our DDs still go out on the 15th because I used to be paid in the middle of the month! MrEH used to be paid fully a month ahead which was a pain when the point came that they decided to change it to the more usual pay in arrears (unsurprisingly after the company got stitched several times by folk deciding to leave and simply going!)

GeorgianaCavendish

Joining the thread to keep me on the straight and narrow in December!  

This has been the first year I've saved a bit each month towards Christmas and I've just finished my Christmas shopping - so hopefully I won't fall into the December pay trap again. 

kimwp

It would be interesting to know why this is an issue - is it because people spend based on the amount in the bank? Or something else?

EssexHebridean

Kim, it tends to be that Christmas is an expensive time anyway, and so many folk don’t budget for it (as proof I offer you the massive number of folk who will say that it “took them by surprise” when they needed to start spending - in spite of always having a minimum of 365 days notice from the previous one!) so when their pay lands 2 weeks earlier and the bank balance is suddenly higher there is a short sighted reaction to think “phew” and realise that they CAN afford their turkey/to buy extra presents for the kids/insert other spend that money SHOULD already have been set aside for. The stress about Christmas “having to be right” means they don’t stop to think that the money they’re spending is still needed for the usual budget in January. 

kimwp

Ah, ok, so it's more the relief at the help with the Christmas spend than spending to the amount in the bank. Thanks EH!

ZaSa1418

Before I started to budget properly I would fall into this trap every year but now this is the second year where i will not.

enthusiasticsaver

I budget separately for Christmas but have realised this year that we are not putting anywhere near enough away so really need to up our monthly savings.   We gift cash to our children plus a few presents under the tree, a few gifts for my DH  and the majority is  presents for the grandchildren.  I watched Martin Lewis Money show last night with my mum and brother and agreed no presents for wider family this year so relatively short list thank goodness. This year we have four christmas dos/events though unlike last year.  I have just checked last years banking records though and two of my pensions did pay a few days early so  I will ignore them until the end of the month as normal. Thanks for reminder EH.  

EssexHebridean

I’m just catching up with last night’s show, great to see the usual reminder about cutting back on the “default” of reciprocal gifting. A friend of ours recently broached the subject and we’ve agreed not to buy for each other this year, and I’d already agreed with another friend over the past year that it was so tricky to get in to shops to actually find the right thing thst we’d skip gifts until after the covid situation had got a bit more normal.  We agreed with family years ago that we’d just be buying for thr kids - and when both children in a family pass 18 their personal presents stop and we revert to a “family” one instead. This one can be a massive saving if you’ve got lots of nieces and nephews. 

GeorgianaCavendish

Cutting back on the "default" gifts was such a relief! Covid-permitting, we've agreed to skip the gifts but make an effort to meet up in January instead (when I'm more in need of a boost TBF!) 

mcpitman

Our works payday is normally 25th of every month.

Dec = 13th. I do wish they would stop doing this.

Doesn't bother me, but the "young un's" at work are already excited about it.