December 8, 2020 6 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

December came. It already smells like punch and Christmas dinner, the resolutions for the new year begin and for your well-deserved effort, the long-awaited Christmas gift arrives. But do you know what you are going to do with it?

In addition to thinking about buying gifts, and spending it on end-of-year promotions, according to a study conducted by CONDUSEF , 90% of Mexicans think about using their Christmas bonus to pay their debts , but only 35% comply, and the rest are hurt in their finances.

How many times have you said: “On Monday I start the diet …”, “This year I save …”, “Now I pay all my debts …”, but you never start?

As you can see, you are not the only one, but it is not your fault, it is for lack of structure. And since I don’t want it to keep happening to you over and over again, I decided to write this article for you so you know what YES and what you should NOT do when you receive your Christmas bonus.

WHAT YOU SHOULD NOT DO

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• Fall into temptation: You will be surrounded by offers, promotions, interest-free months, etc. Be careful! Avoid buying things you don’t need, no matter how cheap they are.
• Acquire new debts: If you do not have debts, do not complicate yourself. Start 2021 with healthy finances and forget about those annoying payments.
• Make compulsive purchases: Buy only what you need, if you did not plan to buy something, do not do it.
• Spend everything on Christmas gifts: Many people will buy gifts as if they were Santa Claus, but don’t worry, you are not. If you want to show love to your loved ones, you can give them something made for you and that does not affect your finances.
• Abusing credit cards: Ok, you already had in mind to buy certain things, but you realized that you cannot buy everything for cash. Don’t abuse the cards and be careful with the interest-free months trick.
• Grabbing little by little: If you do not have in mind what you are going to spend your money on, don’t go grabbing “little by little” generating expenses ant, because as they say, drop by drop the water runs out… and your money too.
• Allocate all the money to a single thing: Unless it is to pay your debts or to invest it, do not allocate all your Strenna to buy things that you will not need.
• Lend: Many people take advantage of the fact that everyone has money, and they begin to borrow to be able to spend more … I recommend that you only lend money if you do not need it, think that money you lend is money you give away.
• Spending to spend: If you don’t need it, don’t buy it, not because you have money you have to spend it.
• Make emotional purchases: It is similar to falling into temptation. Do not get carried away by flashy offers that make you buy things you think you need (momentarily), and later you realize that you only let yourself be carried away by your emotions.

WHAT TO DO YES

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• Pay debts: Before you get more debt, try to pay what you owe. If you only have one debt, try to settle it once and for all, if you have more than one, advance payments or reduce your debts, that will bring you peace of mind to start the year well.
• Invest: The best thing about having money is that you can make it grow. If you are not an investment expert and one of your New Year’s resolutions is to learn, I recommend that you start at CETES (you can do it from $ 100).
• Go back to your resolutions: Is the year ending and you didn’t fulfill any of your resolutions? If you had planned to take a trip, take classes or buy something, but you had not had the opportunity (or the money), take advantage of your Strenna and make sure you do not end the year without having completed at least one.
• Think ahead: Remember that January is coming, and if you don’t prevent yourself, your finances can be affected and January can be the most difficult month of the year. So think ahead.
• Separate between needs and wants: Before going shopping at the end of the year, make a list and order it according to the needs you really have, and discard what you “think you need” (but no).
• Have a backup: Include it in your budget, save a little of your Strenna for any unforeseen event that occurs on these dates.
• Compare: In many stores, whenever there is mass shopping season, they take the opportunity to inflate their prices and put some “offers”. Do not buy in the first place you go, better go ahead to compare prices and choose the one that suits you best.
• Make a budget: Separate your Strenna, so that you know how much you are going to spend on what, plan your finances for this end of the year and prevent your money from ending up where you least expected it.
• Reward yourself: The Christmas bonus is the result of your effort throughout the year, it is worth using part of it to buy whatever you want, but remember, only part.
• Take care of your money: It is your money and no one is going to take care of it for you. Take responsibility for managing it and having healthy finances.

If in previous years has done more than NO YES you should do with your Christmas bonus, it’s time to create change you need, before the end of the year.

And so that it does not happen to you again, I recommend that you assign a destination to each peso that reaches your pocket .