It’s been a month since the holidays, the New Year is well established, and everyone has settled back into the regular work routine. However, as much as the holidays seem like a distant memory, your bank account has taken a hit. It is in your interest to take a step back, and a deep breath, and put strategies in place to recover from the erratic spending that the holidays typically impose. In this post, we share some strategies to nurse your holiday spending hangover.
Start saving for next year’s holiday spend
Yup, that’s right. If you start planning now, you won’t have to overspend when next year’s holiday season rolls around.
On a personal level, you can start saving up for gift buying and party planning. At a corporate level, budget now for the company holiday party and bonuses that will be distributed to employees. If you set parameters very early in the process, you won’t be surprised at the end of the year.
Limit employee vacation and ramp productivity
Usually, team productivity wanes towards the end of year. Between statutory vacation days, and additional vacation time logged, most work slows in December. To reestablish a sense of momentum and to ramp the productivity of your team, limit the vacation time taken in the first month of the year. You may also consider beginning the year with a ½ day ‘planning’ session, laying out goals and objectives and introducing new incentives to accelerate productivity.
Prioritize your debt
If you have overspent, take note of your obligations and put them in priority order. Does everything need to be paid off at the same time? Can you stagger your payments? Once you have a sense of priority, you can map out a plan to get back on track.
Prioritize your expenses
Once you have addressed your debt, you can also review your monthly expenses and determine if there are things that can be put on hold. Perhaps you can do without certain line items, even temporarily, so that you can make up some of what you spent over the holidays. Especially beyond your fixed expenses, are there areas where you can cut corners? Make those hard decisions, and in just a few short months, your holiday hangover will be a distant memory.
Access unexpected sources of revenue
Perhaps it’s time to think outside of the box. There are many sources of viable revenue that you may not have considered. Explore government grants and reimbursements that are available to startups and companies that serve certain industries. Access internship resources from local universities and co-op programs. By tapping into other sources of revenue, you can offset some of your holiday debt and turn things around.
There is no need to panic if you overspent during the holidays and your company bottom line took a hit. Work out a plan that incorporates some of the strategies noted above and soon enough, you will be well on the road to recover.
If you need additional help recovering from holiday spending, contact Miller Bernstein today.
