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You’ve only got a few weeks to wrap up your final loose ends at work, start planning your Christmas/New Year celebrations, and pick up whatever presents you need for your family, friends and other loved ones.
Put Christmas planning to one side and spend a little time thinking about your finances for 2026.Credit: Michael Howard
The good news about the latter is that it’s currently Black Friday, so you should still be able to snag a bargain either in-store or online (and let’s be honest, the sales basically last all of December these days so you’ve got loads of time).
But how about adding one more thing to your pre-Christmas list? Something that might take you a couple of hours, but will pay you dividends (possibly literally) over the long term? Something your future self approximately 12 months from now will be thanking you for?
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Because not only is the end of the year a great time for Christmas shopping, it’s also a great time to sit down and review your finances for the past 12 months, and plan for 2026.
What’s the problem?
Around half of the country are considered financially illiterate, and a massive 86 per cent of us admit we don’t know our monthly expenses, let alone our expenses over the course of a whole year.
Obviously, that’s no good, and while I hope most Real Money readers are a little more attuned to their finances, sitting down at the end of the year to get a plan in place for next year can be extremely valuable in helping you get an accurate picture. It can also help you budget for Christmas presents!