5 Ways to Easily Save More Money For Christmas

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Summary
In this episode of the Living My Life Like It's Golden podcast, host Louisa Larado discusses how to feel good about your finances leading up to Christmas. She shares personal experiences of financial stress during the holiday season and offers practical tips for managing money effectively. Louisa emphasizes the importance of creating a positive money mindset, setting clear financial goals, and taking actionable steps to save money. She also invites listeners to join her free three-day challenge aimed at helping participants achieve a $2,000 cash boost by Christmas.

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Disclaimer: The information contained on today’s podcast has been provided as general advice only. The contents have been prepared without taking into account your objectives, financial situation or individual needs. Before making any decision regarding the information, strategies or products mentioned on today’s episode, please consult your own financial advisor or other professional first.

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Financial Well-being for Christmas
• 2:58 Overcoming Christmas Financial Stress
• 5:50 Setting Up for Financial Success
• 8:35 Creating Achievable Financial Goals
• 11:54 Actionable Steps to Save for Christmas
• 14:34 Join the $2,000 Cash Boost Challenge

Transcript

Hello and welcome to the Living My Life Like It's Golden podcast. I'm your host, Louisa Larado And today I'm gonna talk about how to feel really good about your money with the lead up to Christmas because I know it's only a couple of months away. Crazy, hey?

And I know the stress that you can feel with that lead up with all these extra expenses coming up. There's always different events coming up. There's obviously all the gifts that you're purchasing for your family and loved ones and friends. There's all the extra going out and just lots of things happening. It's always a really expensive time of year. And I know this year, especially with cost of living, with inflation, just with the cost of everything right now.

I know a lot of families are doing it tough and a lot of people are doing it tough. So I want to give you some really simple tips today just to help you really get the most out of your money and start to feel good about your money with the lead up to Christmas and also not only feel good about it but actually start saving a bit of extra money with the lead up to Christmas instead of feeling like you're running out all the time.

a couple of years ago, were when we were still sort of in our bankruptcy period.

Christmas was always a bit of a struggle because you would think, I've got all of these people I've got to buy for, my kids were still young, you you wanted to get them some things that they wanted and... but it's also like yeah going out all this different catch-ups with friends and Christmas parties and it's expensive. And then there's usually Christmas holidays as well or going away or trying to do something as well. So...

as much fun as Christmas is, there's also a lot of expenses. And I remember just feeling dread with that lead up. Christmas used to be my most favorite time of year, especially growing up. Like, I love Christmas. If you give me any holiday, like the lead up to Christmas, it was just the best. So carefree, so much fun. And I'd always feel so good. And then the last few years, it was

the opposite. was like dreading it. I didn't even want to think about Christmas shopping. I put off Christmas shopping till the very last moment. and when I did go shopping, I'm not a fan of shopping anyway, but Christmas shopping is always a bit hectic. And I remember thinking like going to the shops and just every time I tap my card, I just didn't feel good about any of the spending I was doing. I just wanted to be out and it was not

a good space to be. And then you feel resentful about the money you're spending. Then you resentful about when you're going out and you do want to go out and do those things, you're like, but you're worrying about every single thing you're spending. And I don't know if that's resonating with any of you, but I wanted to go back to having fun Christmases again, where it was just joy and it was about family and friends and having fun and

creating fantastic experiences and not as materialistic but also just not stressful. I didn't want to have to go through that.

What I've learned though, from all of that, that is what I do not want to do. So I don't want to have to, number one, not have enough money allocated for Christmas, two, have the shopping stressful situation, and three, I just don't want to feel that resentment towards every single person or every single thing that I'm spending my money on or buying gifts for. That is not the whole point of Christmas. So I needed to get out of that. I needed to break that cycle.

So what I did instead, the last few years, I've reflected on those practices and realized this doesn't work. So how can I make it work? And the last few years, and especially this year, I've realized what it really comes down to, everything, is the feeling and the vibration of things. Like everything has got this energy. Everything's got that vibration. So when I'm out Christmas shopping and feeling stressed and resentful, all I'm doing is attracting more of that into my life. But when I'm out,

you know, loving spending money because I'm feeling good and I'm grateful that I've got the money and I enjoy that I can use that money to bring joy to people, then that's going to make me feel a whole lot better about the situation. So what I did instead the last few years was think of how can I do that? How can I actually do that in real life, not just in my theory of my mind? So.

What I decided to do, so first of all, the lead up to Christmas, I made sure that I was set up for it. I know it's always going to be a costly time. So instead of having to always dip into like main savings or try and work a bit more to get a bit of money, I've started early by setting up a separate account so that a bit of money is going to that each pay cycle or each week or fortnight.

and that's going to grow up just for Christmas expenses. Then when it comes to that time, I can not touch my main savings or my investment accounts. I've got that money allocated there that I can then go into and spend and feel really good about it. Because when you go into your savings or you're into transferring money around accounts or even worse, putting it on a credit card that you don't have the funds for.

That is, it makes you feel defeated. doesn't feel good. It feels restricted. It feels like you're sort of failing in some ways for me personally anyway. So I wanted to make my money feel good for me. I wanted to make my money work for me. So allocating that separate savings meant that I had the funds there. But then there was also different things as well of, you know, how I want to use that money. If I'm just using it to buy crappy cheap toys that I know are going to break or

buying it in these big companies that I just didn't, couldn't get behind, then that was how I wanted to use my money. So I started using shopping mall for things like experiences or supporting more local and small businesses that made me feel really good about spending money in that way. Cause I wasn't just supporting like a big corporation that I didn't really feel aligned with. was supporting a local business or another small business that I

new, they had quality products. So that sort of changes your mindset around how you're spending at Christmas. having that separate savings and setting it up in a way where you can feel good about your spending is really gonna make a massive difference. And I know that definitely did for me. So the last few years, it's been amazing being able to have money to go.

buy all the things that I need, do all the fun events with family and friends without feeling that restriction and that dread and all those other feelings that might go with Christmas. But I wanna give you a few goals that I've realized that really helped cement this. And these are things that you could start doing from today to save more money with this lead up to Christmas. So the first thing I want you to have a think about is setting yourself a really clear goal.

What do you actually want to achieve by Christmas? How much money would you like to have in your savings account? And you might set up before Christmas, it might be for like the first of December. So then you can start spending your money between them. So it's like a month and a half that you can set your goals. So start thinking of a goal that you can set and an amount that you know you would like to have to get through gifts that you need to buy, events and experiences, maybe a holiday, if you're doing a holiday too.

So have that goal set. Now, once you've set a clear goal and write it down somewhere, have it somewhere where you can see it. Cause when you have a goal, it's like all of a sudden you've got something you can focus on because where your focus goes, your energy flows, you might've heard say before. If you're not focused on a goal, you're just hoping, at the end of the payout, just put whatever I've got into an account or just cross your fingers and hope that money will magically be enough for Christmas.

then you're less likely to achieve that. By setting a goal, writing it down, being really clear, even put it on your phone, put it on the fridge, somewhere you'll see it that you're reminded of daily, then that's gonna help you stay focused on what your goal is. The second thing is you need to start looking at any beliefs right now that are telling you you can't do it, because they're gonna come up. I guarantee you, that's always, every time you set a goal, there's always gonna be that little voice in your head that says,

no, you're not gonna be able to say about that amount of money, that's way too much, or that you're not good at saving, you're bad with money, you're not good at doing these things. So you might have a voice in your head that tells you something along those lines. So if you do have any of those little negative beliefs about it, well firstly, make sure that goal you've set is actually achievable. If you're saying, I'm gonna save up $100,000 for Christmas, and that might be a bit of a stretch unless you're earning $100,000 a month in your current job.

that might be a bit too much of a stretch. So set something realistic for that goal. But then if the beliefs come up as saying, I'm not good with money, you'll never be able to do that. Or whatever else is coming up for you. I want you to think of ways that you can start to disprove those beliefs. So it might be looking for evidence of times where you have been really good with money or where you have been able to save up money. Or if you can't find proof within yourself of any of those limiting beliefs that you're holding onto.

then what I want you to do is look for other people that can do those things. And if they can do it, then why can't you? It's not like an impossible feat. It's like, you know, once, once you prove your brain is always looking for evidence of why you can't, why you shouldn't be able to do something. Cause your brain is there. It's like that survival brain that we still have. It wants to protect you at all costs. So it doesn't want you to do anything that maybe will push you out of your comfort zone or take you to that next level.

So instead what it's gonna do is make you play small. So you need to tell your brain that it is possible for you to do these things and whatever is coming up, might be, we can never afford it. Money's always tight. Then show your brain, look for evidence of when that is not the case and write it down. That's gonna help you start to slowly change your mindset.

So look at any beliefs, that little voice in your head that's saying you can't do it and address it. Don't just let it take over, say, no, that's not true. And rewrite, write down what you want that belief to be instead and then prove how it can be. Now, my third tip for you to save up for Christmas is to start, once you've done that, set up a separate savings account that is separate, in a separate, it might be a separate bank or a separate account within the bank that you currently have.

that is just purely for the savings goal that is just purely for your goal of saving leading up to Christmas. And this is going to help you generate money into that account so you can manage your money. So whenever maybe you're allocated, so when you get paid, that money is going to get diverted into that account, a set amount, each pay that comes between now and the date of your goal. Or if you are looking for ways to

create some extra money, that money is gonna go straight into that savings account. So it's not something that is associated with any other account. If you have it with a different bank, it means there's those few extra steps to transfer money. So if you are low on funds in one account, you wanna dip into that,

The harder you make it basically, those extra barriers are going to make it bit more tricky to transfer that money out of one account and into another. So that will mean you will be less likely to transfer the money. So that's a really good tip. So have a separate savings account for your goal. Number four, make an action plan now of how you can see you actually achieving this goal. Now you don't have to do everything on your action plan, but it's sort of...

telling your brain, okay, well, these are some steps I could start taking. And what you'll probably notice when you make an action plan is that then more things might start showing up for you, but you have to be open to them first. So having that action plan might be when I get paid, I'm gonna allocate $100 straight into my Christmas savings account, or I'm going to do a big clear out of my house and

sell everything on marketplace and everything that I make is going to go straight into that savings account. Or another action plan you might have is you might set up a little side thing that you do on the side. You might do something that's in line with what you're currently doing. So for example, I'm a teacher so I could do some tutoring leading up to that time. So think of what skills you have. Is there something else you could do to create a bit of additional income on top of what you're currently doing?

So just start making an action plan of how can I start to achieve that goal? Okay, and once you start putting these steps in, and once you see an action plan of what you need to do, then your brain's gonna start seeing the pathway and the roadmap of how to get to that goal. And it means you're be so much more likely to achieve it. And then step five is to take one action each day towards that goal. So it might be, day one might just be inquiring about

High interest banks accounts that you could open up. So you could open up a savings account. Day two could be opening up the savings account. Day three could be setting up your direct debit. So your pay goes into that account. Day four might be doing a clean out of your house, looking for different things that you could sell and so on. And you'll start the ball rolling. And even if it's the tiniest action, like just Googling top high interest accounts, that would take you five seconds to do.

then all this is starting to do is it's generating that momentum and you need momentum to start reaching a goal. Cause it will start creating a habit where you want to do something that's going to get you closer to that goal. So if you these five things, I guarantee you will be in a much better financial situation come Christmas than you may be currently thinking you're going to be in or that you might've been last year. So just to recap those five tips to really help you

generate a bit more money to save before Christmas is one, have a really clear achievable goal that you have set. Two, address any limiting beliefs or that little voice in your head that's telling you you can't do it and create some new beliefs you'd prefer and give your brain some evidence to show why the new beliefs are gonna happen and not the old one, to disprove the old ones. Step three, make sure you have a separate savings account set up ready for your Christmas savings.

Step four, make sure you have an action plan ready to go. So you've got some steps laid out so you know what you need to do in order to achieve this goal. And it's really clear, but be flexible with that action plan because you might get some even better ideas that come up during it. And step five is to take one action each day towards your goal. It doesn't matter how small it is, but you have to do it each day. Now, if you want even more of a head start on this,

Christmas savings goal. In a couple of weeks, I am holding a free three day challenge and this challenge is all about how to have a $2,000 cash boost by Christmas challenge. So it's gonna be so much fun and I'm gonna go a lot more in depth than I went to on today's episode, but I'm gonna give you each day you're have a different activity to do. It's all virtual, it's all online so you can watch anywhere you are in the world.

And I'm going to break down all the mindset stuff you need to put in play in order to have reached that $2,000 savings goal. I'm going to give you all the different money managing and money making strategies that you will need to really help set yourself up for success and really set up your finances in a way that are going to work for you to make the $2,000 goal a whole lot more achievable.

And then you're also going to have a really clear roadmap. I'm going to show you exactly how to set the best type of goal and how to make this action plan that's actually going to work for you in your favor. It's going to be so much fun. So hopefully this is something you would like if you really want some real clear guidance on how to have an extra $2,000 in time for Christmas and who wouldn't want that. Then you've got nothing to lose. It's a free

workshop. It's a free challenge. as long as you're registered, you'll get all the links. It's all via zoom. So you'll get to come in and watch. You'll have a chance to answer questions. If you want even more from this challenge, there's also a VIP option. So if you pay a small fee, you're also going to get to have lifetime access to the content. You're going to have a few more.

resources, you're going to get a one-on-one coaching session with me to really sit down and get clear on the exact roadmap custom to your own needs. You're also going to get to have a, after each day of the live call, you're going to get the VIPs only going to have a live Q &A session with me where they can ask any questions that came up during the session and I can help coach you through those answers. So that will be something only the VIPs access on top of what they get.

in the three day challenge. you're still gonna get three days of great content, whether you choose the free version or the VIP version. It's up to you, but I really hope you can join me on the challenge, because I really wanna connect with a few of you and show you how easy, or how simple I should say, it's not really easy, because you've gotta do the work, but it's so simple once you have the right roadmap and once you have the right tools and the right strategies.

And this little stuff that I've taken years of making a whole lot of mistakes and learning the really long hard way, but I'm going to simplify and show you the fastest way to start generating a bit more money for the Christmas season, which I really hope you can help join me in registering. So the link is in the show notes, or you can just head to louisalorado.com slash challenge and you'll find out all the information about the challenge and it will show you how to register for your

spot. Now if you've enjoyed today's episode please feel free to subscribe or follow along to the podcast, leave a review. I love hearing your feedback about each episode and if there's anyone else you think will get benefit from this episode feel free to share them, share the love and it will you know the more people that can feel good about their money leading up to Christmas the better.

That is my goal is to help empower and inspire as many people as I can to have a really abundant Christmas this year. We're gone with light, we're ditching the struggle and we're moving to abundance and flow instead. So thank you so much for listening and I will see you on the next episode.