Plans to splurge this Diwali? 3 tips to ensure festive spending doesn’t interfere with your long-term financial health

Diwali is the biggest occasion for splurging on various things in India, be it clothes, jewellery, sweets, gifts, home decor, or even big purchases such as vehicles. Families plan their major expenses around this time of the year. Diwali spending is also encouraged by brands that scramble for sales with offers, deals, and discount packages. It is difficult to control purchases at such a time. However, it is also important to take care of your financial health, especially this year, with the huge financial stress everyone is going through.

Here are 3 simple financial tips for Diwali to ensure that you splurge to your heart’s content without affecting your bank accounts in the long run.

Financial tips for Diwali spending

1. Make a Diwali budget

There are some basic steps for making your special Diwali spending budget.

• Make a wishlist first, and then shortlist purchases based on your available resources.
• Have an overall Diwali spending limit as well as a specific limit for every category of purchases such as home decor, clothes, gifts, etc.
• Make this list much in advance to have enough time for going through discounts, deals, and adjusting spends.
• Don’t spend beyond 30% of your credit card limit. Doing so would affect your credit score negatively and make applying for loans and credit difficult in the future.
• Don’t forget to factor in your bonus. Even though it’s been a rough year, some employers are planning to give Diwali bonuses to employees. Use this amount wisely for paying your dues first, and then allocate the rest to your Diwali plans.
• With your bonus, prepay and foreclose loans if possible. It will take off the post-party stress on your financial health in the months to come. Remember that it is also tax returns month!

Additional Read: How to ensure that the light shines on your wealth this Diwali

2. Gift yourself an investment

Diwali is about gifting as much as it is about everything else. After a tough year and some more expenses in the form of Diwali spending ahead of you, might want to get a little bit serious for a while. This Diwali, gift yourself financial strength in the form of mutual fund investments. Why mutual funds? Because they have a smaller capital outlay suited to the current financial situation, they are flexible, and they are safer than equity. Besides, they usually come with expertise in the form of fund managers. What better way to gift yourself and your family something lasting than an investment that instills financial discipline and provides profits in the long run?

Additional Read: What Is The Power of Compounding & How Can You Use It?

3. Compare loans

Taking a loan might become unavoidable on such high-expense occasions. It could be a last-day addition to your wishlist, extra repairs required for the house, or changing your mind about the car you want to buy. For such scenarios, loans often work better for financial health than credit cards do. Select a loan carefully after evaluating its interest rates, processing time, tenure, EMI, and down payment. You could also take a top-up loan if you have an existing loan. But if you are opting for a new loan, comparison is key. Your choice of loan must not just be based on your family’s and friends’ advice, or a one-off article that you read a while ago. You could miss a better deal simply because of not being patient enough to search about it and taking a loan hastily. Use EMI calculators available on the Moneyfy App to know your interest outgo and tenure.

Conclusion

Diwali spending takes as much thought and planning as any other part of the festival. Even if you hadn’t paid much attention to it before, it is time you started paying attention and making financially sound choices. Using these financial tips for Diwali spending, you can be careful and enjoy the festival with your loved ones at the same time. After all, you can never be too careful with your financial health.