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Christmas Present Tips for Guys

Christmas Shopping Tips for Guys

giftgreen1Most of us guys are useless at Christmas shopping. Here's a few tips I've picked up over the years.

Ladies, you might want to share this with the men in your family to avoid getting an undesirable and badly wrapped present this Christmas.

  1. Buying your Christmas presents at a petrol station or dairy on Christmas morning really isn't the done thing - apparently not everyone wants a funnel, box of biscuits or a car care kit. Don't do it.
  2. Get started early, no not on Christmas Eve, yesterday was already too late.
  3. First thing in the morning is the best time to Christmas shop, and I mean first thing, teenagers are still in bed.
  4. It's not the thought that counts, it's how MUCH thought that counts.
  5. Cash is a GREAT present for teenagers - and me.
  6. If you must give gift vouchers make sure they are from a shop the recipient actually shops in and try and avoid those with an expiry date.
  7. Wrapping and cards are important, you and I know it's just paper but for some reason they are important.
  8. Before you start browsing in a shop check that it does gift wrapping and accept the service - wait if necessary. If the shop doesn't do gift wrapping move on to the next. Unless you are an expert present wrapper - Yeah Right!
  9. Even if every present you buy is gift wrapped, buy plenty of wrapping paper and sellotape. You are going to need it because dairy's and petrol stations don't gift wrap and being a bloke you'll probably ignore number 1.

Guys ignore the above at your peril and have a wonderful Christmas.

Posted in Saving Schemes.

Budgeting can improve your life

Put some aside for a rainy day billsTwelve reasons budgeting can really improve your lot in life

  1. Budget is not only the name of a rental car company! It is also a guide that tells you whether you're going in the direction you want to be headed financially. You may have goals and dreams but if you don't set up goals and guidelines for reaching them and you don't measure your progress, you may end up going so far in the wrong direction you can never make it back. Can you imagine the Government (even if its our taxpayer money) or a major corporate operating without a budget? No, and neither should you.
  2. A budget really lets you control your money instead of your money controlling you.
  3. A budget will tell you if you're living within your means. Before the widespread use of credit cards, it was easier to tell if you were living within your means - you had money left over after paying all your bills. The obscene overuse of credit cards has made this much less obvious. Many people don't realize they're living far beyond their means until they're neck deep in high interest debt.
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  4. A budget can help you meet your savings and investment goals. It includes or should include a mechanism for setting aside money for savings and long term investments, even if only a little per week.
  5. Following a realistic budget frees up spare cash so you can use your money on the things that really matter to you instead of frittering it away on things you don't even remember buying.
  6. A family budget helps your entire family focus on common goals.
  7. A family budget helps you cope with emergencies and large or unanticipated expenses that might otherwise knock you over financially.
  8. A budget can improve your relationship or marriage. A good budget is not just a spending plan; it's also a very good communication tool. Done right, between partners an agreed budget can bring you closer together as you identify and work towards common goals and reduce arguments about money. That's got to be good for your sex life as well!
  9. An honest budget will reveal areas where you're spending (wasting?) too much money so you can regularly refocus on your most impoPink Piggy Bankrtant goals, short and long term.
  10. A well worked budget can keep you out of debt or help get you out of debt.
  11. A well managed budget actually creates extra money for you to use on things that matter to you.
  12. A budget helps you sleep better at night - don't lie awake worrying about how you're going to make ends meet. It will still be hard if prospects are a little bleak or money is tight, but at least you know just where you are financially – every week. You can then work on a longer term fix, take advice, arrange your spending more carefully or even seek a new job.

If you need help budgeting please call one of advisers on 07 578 3863.

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