Tips to avoid overspending during festive seasons

The Credit Counselling and Debt Management Agency (AKPK) has offered some relevant tips to guide households to be thrifty in their Hari Raya festive spending.

In a statement today, AKPK said: "Among the guidelines are to make a checklist, be a smart shopper, take cash advance, allocate current monthly expenditure and pay bills before festive seasons.

"But first, they must prepare a budget of expenses and add in an allocation for the unexpected expenses that come with celebrations," it said.

AKPK said a checklist will help focus only on things 'needed' not the things 'wanted' as it is easy to spend with all the promotions offered and it is recommended to use cash compared to credit card, to avoid being financially burdened, post-festive season.

"Households need to be smart shoppers where they should make price comparisons to avoid paying more than they should. They can use the internet as a platform to check prices at different stores, to avoid overspending.

"We urge Malaysians to be frugal during festive periods so that it would enable them to keep their expenditure within limits, and still have money left for their daily expenditure after the festivities," it said.

AKPK said households need to ensure all their monthly commitments have been paid off and should not be mixed with the funds to spend for shopping in preparation for the celebration.

"Festive months should not be an exception for not saving and it is recommended that they put aside at least 10 percent of their monthly income," it said.