By: Roma Luciw | The Globe and Mail | August 23, 2012
Read More, and see what Scott Plaskett says about budgeting for the holiday season.
Heather McQueen and her husband will spend part of Christmas Day on an airplane. The Vancouver couple, who began hammering out their holiday budget back in September, knew travelling to visit family in Winnipeg and Kamloops would be one of their biggest expenses.
“We are flying out on the night of Dec. 25 because that is when the cheapest ticket was,” says Ms. McQueen, a 33-year-old project manager. “We didn’t cut anything out, but we hunted around for seat sales. We didn’t want to have that after-Christmas regret.”
Although setting up a family budget to oversee holiday spending and set other short- and long-term financial goals seems like a no-brainer, few Canadians are as organized as Ms. McQueen.
“People might assume they will spend $1,000 or $2,000 for Christmas. But unless they started setting aside that money earlier in the year, it tends to go on the Visas or MasterCards,” says Daniel Collison, a regional director for Investors Group in Markham. “Because of interest rate charges, the reality is that people will be paying more for their holidays and presents than the original ticket price.”
Financial planners agree that year-round budgeting is key to weathering cash-flow calamities. A budget is the basis for a strong financial foundation that allows families to buy homes, save for retirement, and survive mishaps such as an unexpected job loss…
