Readers Digest UK - December 2021

DECEMBER 2021 • 105

I

n any year December is going

to be an expensive month, but

I think 2021 is going to be even

tougher to afford thanks to

likely shortages and inflation

leading to higher prices. And

let’s not forget the huge energy price

hikes also squeezing budgets.

So what do you do if there’s less

money to spend and everything costs

more? Well, you know as well as I do

that you shouldn’t spend more than

you have. But it doesn’t have to mean

buying fewer presents or scaling back

the Christmas dinner (though that’s

MONEY

not a bad idea if you always end up

with too much food and drink).

Instead, you could look to boost

your existing festive spending power.

All the suggestions below make the

most of your normal spending or

access potential funds you might

have neglected.

The extra money you can make

might not be enough to really splash

the cash, but it could help you make

up for those rising costs elsewhere.

As we’re already approaching

the big day you might not actually

receive the money from some of

them before you need to spend it,

but at least you’ll have an extra buffer

throughout 2022.