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ARE WE READY FOR OUR ‘FESTIVE PURCHASES’?

ARE WE READY FOR OUR ‘FESTIVE PURCHASES’?

A gadget that you wished for long or a piece of jewelry for your loved one, sports kit for your kid or any white good for home décor.. Well, list can be longer when it comes to ‘festive buying’!

But, are you ready for it?

Today, we keep on buying some or the other things when we see any discount offer or simply as & when we need it. Gone are the days, when we used to ‘wait for what we wished to buy’! Reason?…. Money is easily available today to buy what we want.  Though this is the reality, ‘festive buying’ still holds special place in our heart & the reason to buy goods we need & want.

As we are onset for festive season, lets check why it is special for us to purchase during festivities, what to keep in mind while shopping & how can we simply plan for it..

Why festive season buying is popular & important?

  1. Its considered auspicious:

We have many festivals where buying or gifting to our loved ones is considered auspicious. Even if we do not shop for ourselves, we do find ways to shop for our loved ones for gifting. How much ever shopping we must be doing usually; we still try to buy in the best possible capacity during festivities.

  1. Peer pressure:

Even if some of us think not to buy or spend on anything during festivities, there is a kind of peer pressure which makes us buy new things during festivities.

  1. Attractive offers:

Festive season is big commercial opportunity for all sellers & service providers. They come with attractive discount offers, free purchases offer on certain amount of shopping, etc.  This attracts lot of buyers to buy during festivities.

 

As I checked, many big online shopping sites are offering big discounts of the season on all product ranges. In addition to this, there are cash back offers, discount offers on the usage of designated credit cards, & what not.

When all these are tempting & making us to shop more, following things we must take into consideration when we opt for any such offer.

  1. Impulse buying:

Discount offers, cash back offers, free purchase offers on buying for certain amount from a particular brand, etc ‘trigger us to buy impulsively’.

If we are unsure of what to purchase then we may end up buying many things unwanted or extra to our usage.

  1. Costs heavy on pocket:

Buy now-pay later schemes, personal loan offers from banks are all attractive & also may seem ‘affordable’ to you, but they cost ‘heavy on pocket’ ultimately.

When we buy using any such offers, we buy from the ‘money which we do not own’ at the time of purchase.

Though it may give you instant happiness, it can take longer & heavier on your pocket to ‘re-pay’ it.

  1. Look for charges & rate of interest:

Credit card offers are highly attractive. Here, we can actually buy the thing we wish by just swiping a card but we do get limited period of time to ‘re-pay the dues’.

If we do not re-pay during stipulated time, then rate of interest is in the range of 20% to 40%. Credit card also comes with other charges such as over limit fee, GST etc.

Whereas, rate of interest on personal loan also matters. It is generally on a higher end i.e more than 10% at present. Our income range, CIBIL Score are some of the major deciding factors to be eligible to get the personal loan amount sanctioned.

It comes with loan tenure of 5 to 7 years which can get you pay heavy EMIs.

 

When we have now understood simply about the factors to consider, lest see how can we actually plan for ‘festive purchase’

 

  1. Know in advance, what to purchase

If we know & make a list of items in advance, it will be easier for us to locate good quality items, we can look for discount or can better negotiate on price too. It will also curb ‘impulse purchases.

  1. Simply save with discipline:

With ‘easy availability of money’, ‘saving for our future purchase’ is highly underrated now.

It will surely give extra happiness, when we ‘save & buy’ that special thing. Here, we ‘earn that thing, service or good’ that we always wished for from our disciplined savings & investments.

  1. Start regular investment:

Festive season will come every year, but if the item you wish to buy is ‘high on cost’, then you must start dedicated monthly or regular investment towards this goal.

It can be for buying a house or a swanky car or any gadget. When the cost is high, regular investment can help. You can then purchase it ‘debt free’.

Salaried people can start monthly investment whereas professionals or business people can think of dedicated regular investment on a quarterly basis too. Options like ‘Systematic transfer plan’ for short term mutual fund investments or ‘sweep-in FD’s can prove useful here.

 

Our wish list is long when it comes to buying for our own use or to gift something to our loved ones. We want the best possible purchase for us.

With simply applying the above, we can go for ‘thoughtful purchases’ during festivities!

 

Contact ARTHA FinPlan for more details.
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