December's expenditures include not only the preparation of Christmas dinner and the buying of presents. When planning them, you should also keep in mind New Year's Eve. Unfortunately, during the pre-Christmas frenzy, we often forget to include it in our Christmas budget. As a result, we try to minimize the costs associated with this event - nearly 45% of Poles do not plan any expenditures or declare that they will be as small as possible - not exceeding 100 zł.
"Long-term planning is not one of our strong points," says Krzysztof Kaczmar, President of The Citi Handlowy Leopold Kronenberg Foundation. "73% of us stated a month before the Christmas holidays that they will finance them out of current income, and given the fact that 53% stated that the amount would exceed 600 zł, it is almost certain that many of us will be in the red by the end of December. So, it is no wonder that with so much money spent on Christmas, New Year's Eve is not something that we bother about much - you can always spend it in front of the TV, thus reducing unnecessary costs."
New Year's Eve is a relatively big expense if we want to spend it in an organized manner at a club, theater, or concert. That is why many of us choose to celebrate with friends or at events organized by the city. The way we celebrate and the amount we spend on New Year's Eve is strongly correlated both with age and income level. The last night of the year is an opportunity for exuberant celebration, especially for 30-year olds - as many as 57% of them spend 200-400 zł on it and nearly a fifth, more than 500 zł. And among people over the age of 60, 73% either don't plan any expenses or if they do, these amount to no more than 100 zł (compared to around 45% overall). The situation is the same among respondents whose income does not exceed 2000 zł. Interestingly, in households with higher incomes (4500 zł and more), nearly 30% state that they don't plan New Year's Eve expenditures or set aside less than 100 zł for them.
At the end of the year one should take stock of oneself and seriously deal with one's finances. The first step could be to review one's household budget and start long-range planning of expenditures. As a result, we could spend Easter or Christmas quietly - without borrowing or overdrawing our bank account. Unfortunately, the percentage of people who think about their spending from a long-range perspective of more than half a year has been hovering around 5% for years. We look at this aspect of our lives very shortsightedly - one in three of us limit our financial planning to only one month, and one in five admit that they do not plan their bigger expenditures.
