I’m not sure what happens in the rest of the world but in South Africa, companies usually pay employees by 15 December, so they have money for Christmas.
That’s lovely in theory but it does mean there’s a long, long wait between the December and January salaries.
I wasn’t always as self-disciplined as I am now but I was always a quick learner.
After one really bad year where all the money was spent early on, I vowed to never get in that situation again.
We’ve never used credit cards so that was just not an option.
I’ve now done this for about 12 years and it works beautifully.
When I get paid in December, I move the money I’ll need for the 3 weeks in January plus a bit extra to a separate savings account.
Out of sight, out of mind or… what you don’t see, you can’t spend š
It’s simple but very effective.
This way I always have money in January when everybody else is broke. And everybody thinks I’m very clever when I tell them my “tricks”.
What do you do about the long wait? Or what happens on your side of the world?
P.S. In the Organise your home system, there’s an ebook on finances called 10 steps to your financial freedom which has even more fantastic tips.
P.P.S. If you’re getting paid this week, my coaching challenge is to put the January money in another account.
Well, here they don’t pay the december salary early so I never had to do such a thing, yet this tip sounds great to me. At my job, we get a bonus at the end of the year, about the equivalent to one monthly salary, and they used to give it at the end of december, but they switched to the end of november and it’s waaaaayyyyyy more practical that way! Right on time for gifts and traveling!