Holiday hangover: how to survive the New Year

I’d have a little money left to pay for my taxi fares and airtime this month. Or maybe if I‘d put a little of my Christmas bonus away and labelled it ‘My January Emergency Fund’ I’d be in a less stressful place right now.  In December I forgot to go pay the children’s school fees - now I’ve spent their money as well. What am I going to do?”

As the most expensive time of the year has come and passed, we need to be extra careful not to overspend our money. January is traditionally the toughest month of the year. December is expensive with gifts and celebrations, as well as the fact that our December salary usually comes earlier than usual. Our money must stretch for nearly 6 weeks, instead of the standard 4-5 weeks.  This puts extreme strain on our financial situations, but this is not a good reason to get further into debt and seek a loan.