Last year, Australian shoppers poured $11.8 billion into the holidays.

As a result, millions of them walked into January significantly poorer and/or burdened with holiday debt.

This debt reached a staggering total of $2.7 billion nationwide.  

Making matters even worse, 43% of those debt holders anticipated it would take up to five months to clear their balance, and 15% expected it would take a year or more to pay it off. 

No Fox & Hare member should be falling into this trap. This isn’t just “silly season” spending; it would be money and time diverted away from your future goals – the ones you’re working so hard for!  

So, this year, we are challenging you to max out the celebrations while still banking your wins – with 4 proactive tips from the Fox & Hare advisers that are designed to guarantee financial victory this festive season. 

Let’s go!

In short:

The Problem 💰
Last year, Australians racked up a total $2.7 billion in holiday debt. No Fox & Hare member should be walking into the new year with debt from the festive season, especially not at the expense of longstanding goals such as homeownership or passive income.

The Solution 🛡️:
The F&H team – from marketing to financial advice – have laid out a list of proactive strategies you can implement to avoid the most common financial traps this holiday season.

The Outcome ✅:
Choose and implement the strategies that apply to you personally, from the list below, to guarantee you walk into the new year feeling powerful, in control, and on track.

Your Next Step:
Read through the four tips below, pick those are most relevant to you and lock with the ‘first actionable step’ provided.  

1. Lock Down Your Goals: Treat Your Savings and Investments as a Non-Negotiable Fixed Expense 

One of the biggest mistakes you can make is viewing your long-term wealth building – whether it’s auto-investing, Super contributions, or mortgage top-ups – as a flexible or optional cost that can be paused for the holiday season.  

Your goals must remain your top priority.  

F&H Financial Adviser, Christine Dang, is firm on this non-negotiable approach: “Keep the savings and investment strategies going. Think of them like fixed expenses as opposed to optional costs.” She says.

This sentiment is echoed by Courtenay Walker, Head of Advice at Fox & Hare, who stresses “Christmas is temporary, longer-term goals are forever, and we need to mindful of that fact over the festive season.” 

To treat your savings like rent or a utility bill is to enforce the self-discipline needed for your long-term progress toward your goals. If you reduce the amount that you are saving or investing, it must be the result of a conscious, deliberate choice – not accidental, unplanned or frivolous spending.  

Your Actionable First Step: 

If you feel like you’re at risk of overspending at the expense of your goals, you can transfer your investment or saving funds early – before the festive season and its associated spending kick in.  

You can also review your most recent Statement of Advice (SOA), for a refresher on your goal timelines, and make a mental note of how far any missteps might push them out.  

“Keep the savings and investment strategies going. Think of them like fixed expenses.” F&H Financial Adviser, Christine Dang advises treating goals as non-negotiable costs.

2. Set a Hard Budget: Cover Every Festive Cost (Not Just Gifts) 

Even the best laid, most stringently observed plans can fail over the festive season.

One of the main causes we see for this situation is that people only account for the main event – the gifts – when planning their festive spending. 

When you don’t view the financial weight of the season as a whole, your funds are likely to be hoovered by the multitude of unplanned extras – decorations, events, new outfits, food and the list goes on.  

F&H Financial Adviser, Julie Bullen, explains that this tunnel vision is where many budgets fail: “Set a budget for the entire Christmas period – and I mean everything. Gifts, food, drinks, travel, events, outfits… it all adds up.”  She says. “Being realistic upfront can help you enjoy the season without a financial hangover that costs you months of progress toward your goals.” 

Winning at the Christmas budget means calculating the total amount you are willing to spend, including the little things and unexpected costs like transport, secret santas or hosting expenses.

To reinforce this message, F&H Head of Advice, Courtenay Walker insists on one non-negotiable: “Identify a budget AND STICK TO IT! DON’T USE CREDIT CARDS!!!!!!!!! ” Plain and simple.

Your Actionable First Step:

Decide on a fixed ‘Festive Season Spend’ budget and, if you feel you might need a little extra help sticking to it, open a dedicated, transfer the funds in and commit to treating this balance as your entire budget for the season, with no top-ups allowed. 

To avoid months of setback, F&H Adviser Julie Bullen insists on setting a single ‘hard’ budget to cover every cost of the season decorations, outfits, food, and events, etc – not just the gifts!

3. Implement “Buy-Stop” Friction: Physically Block Impulse Purchases 

Impulse buying is one of the most effective ways to compromise your festive budget and slow your progress toward the big, life-changing goals you came to Fox & Hare to achieve.  

To keep yourself on track, you need to create deliberate friction between the urge to spend and the ability to swipe, scan or click “buy now” 

F&H’s advisers have two tips to actively opt-out of temptation:

Digital Detox:
This strategy is about consciously stepping out of the sales cycle and Julie suggests going straight to the source: “Unsubscribe from all those marketing emails landing in your inbox… The less time you spend being sold to, the more likely you are to stay on track and stress less later” she says. It’s also worth unfollowing any influencers or brands that consistently post paid partnerships or other advertising materials” says Fox & Hare Community & Marketing Lead, Liam Hartley. You are more likely to make a purchase when it comes from a ‘trusted’ source and retailers are cashing in big from influencer marketing.

Grab and Go:
Once you’ve covered the digitial marketing, you need to plan for the physical retailers, too. Father of four and F&H Adviser Callum Newell is giving peak Dad advice: “plan your gifts ahead and free up a single, set time period to go to the shops and buy them! Having a set plan of attack reduces the likelihood you’ll get sucked into buying something extra at the shops or scrolling through Amazon,” he says. 

Introduce these barriers, and any others you can think of, and you’ll minimise your exposure to temptation, making it easier to stick to your pre-approved budget! 

Your Actionable First Step:

Spend five to thirty minutes right now and unsubscribe from / unfollow all the marketing emails and influencers you can find. Then, attempt to write an exhaustive list of every gift you need to buy and commit to a single, restricted window (e.g., 3 hours) next week for all necessary holiday shopping.

“Plan your gifts ahead and free up a single, set time period to go to the shops.” Says F&H Adviser, Callum Newell. “Having a set plan of attack reduces the likelihood you’ll get sucked into buying something extra.”

4. Master Social Spending: Proactively Manage Gifts and Events 

The festive season is a blast, and you should absolutely have fun! However, the sheer number of invitations and hosting requirements, if not properly managed, could end up being stressful, expensive, and leave you feeling terrible come January.

Nobody wants to walk into the new year broke AND feeling rough. So, why do we? 

Fox & Hare Co-founder and financial adviser, Glen Hare, considers himself somewhat of a social butterfly, but actively applies two core rules to protect his festive budget and energy:

Rule #1: Practice JOMO (Joy of Missing Out):
Glen sets clear boundaries on his time and social obligations. “I have started saying ‘no’ much more frequently over the past couple of years. There is so much going on over the Christmas period that if you say yes to everything it won’t only cost an arm and a leg, but it’ll leave you feeling like garbage by the New Year. Limit yourself to what’s truly important and give 100% of your energy to that!”
 

Rule #2: BYO!
Glen controls the per-person cost of catch-ups by choosing intimate, casual and low cost gatherings. His advice for reducing the default expense is simple: “Bring back the BYO bevies and a BBQ. They’re cheap, much more personal than a random restaurant, and who doesn’t love a summer BBQ?”. 

Go out, enjoy yourself, and fill your cup – in every way you can!  

You deserve the fun and connection, but don’t forget to put yourself and your commitment to your goals first. It is more than possible to enjoy yourself without sacrificing your hard-earned money, health, and progress. 

Your Actionable First Step:

Decide on your ‘Magic Number’ of parties and events you will attend or host for the season (e.g., maximum five). Set the date range for what you consider the “festive season” and discern away! Say yes to only the most fulfilling events and bring a little peace back to your holidays.

“Focus on what’s truly important and give 100% of your energy to that.” Says F&H Co-founder Glen Hare.

🥳 Win the Festive Season: Protect Your Progress! 

This year, you are going to beat the holiday crunch and protect your momentum. 

Remember the goal: to have the best time without wasting the time, money and progress you’ve worked so hard for in 2025. 

The cost of a mismanaged festive season is real—it could be a potential delay to your home deposit, hundreds lost to interest on credit card bills, or MONTHS added to the timeline on your next financial goal.  

F&H Co-founder Glen Hare says the trade-offs are measurable and real: “You need to understand how much the overspending will push back your goal i.e. if you spend an extra $1,000 the you might delay that property purchase by one month, $2,000, two months etc…”.

Remember: Planning is power, not punishment. 

You deserve to enjoy the festive season, and committing to a plan guarantees you peace of mind, zero financial regret and the space to enjoy yourself. 

Pick the actionable steps from our four points that are most relevant to you and implement them right now.  

Execute them today and walk into the new year on track and in control! 

Planning is power, not punishment. Your F&H team are here to help you master spending and secure your financial situation throughout the festive season and beyond.

About Fox & Hare:

Fox & Hare are the Millennial and Gen Z advisers, 100% focused on helping Australia’s 20-45 year olds buy property, get invested and achieve financial freedom. 

When it comes to managing your money, it’s normal to feel uncertain or scared of making the wrong decision; it’s normal to feel so overwhelmed that, despite knowing you need to do something, the first step seems impossible; and it’s also incredibly normal to be earning great coin, but still feeling like you’re behind. 

At Fox & Hare we create bespoke, long term financial plans that eliminate these uncertainties and put you in control of your financial future. No more option paralysis. No more fear of missing out. No more uncertainty about how to manage your money effectively.

If you:  

• Want to achieve financial freedom. 

• Want the flexibility to live your life on your terms, not tied to a job or working 24/7. 

• Want your money to be working for you – not the other way around. 

 But the idea of learning how and where to start is more than a little daunting, let Fox & Hare do the legwork for you.