Enjoy December without regretting it in January, experts warn

As South Africans move into the festive season, financial experts are urging households to enjoy December celebrations without setting themselves up for regret in January. Life has a way of dropping milestones and curveballs into the same season - from the first day of “big school” to a child heading to varsity - all while families navigate year-end spending.

Woven through these moments of joy and uncertainty is one common thread: money. How households prepare for these transitions, budget for them, and recover from them can shape the year-long after the moment has passed.

Recent national data highlights the urgency. As of January 2025, South Africa’s headline consumer inflation rate stood at 3.2%, driven largely by housing, utilities, food, and other essentials. Many households already spend the bulk of their income on basic needs, leaving little room for unexpected expenses. A 2024 food-price survey shows the average urban household food basket costs over R5,200 per month, underscoring how quickly essential expenses add up. Add school fees, university costs, or holiday spending, and the risk of financial strain becomes very real.

Every family enters these chapters with a mix of excitement and anxiety. What often gets overlooked is that financial planning isn’t about having more money - it’s about having more clarity. Whether your child is starting Grade 1 or moving into their first student flat, planning early and honestly removes the fear from the unknown.

For parents preparing for the first year of school in 2026, that clarity is critical. It’s not just stationery and uniforms, but transport, aftercare, extracurriculars, and the gradual escalation of costs with each new grade. You don’t need to overhaul your entire household budget. But you do need to ring-fence these expenses, so they don’t derail everything else. Small, consistent adjustments beat last-minute scrambles every time.

And those adjustments rarely end with primary school. As children grow, so do the costs - often quietly at first, then all at once. High school brings new pressures, from technology and transport to subject choices with added fees. Before long, the conversation shifts from school shoes to student accommodation and registration deadlines. The university years arrive faster than most families expect, bringing a very real financial stretch. Tuition, accommodation, transport, textbooks, technology, food, and emergencies quickly add up. Families must treat this milestone as a long-term project, not a once-off shock.

Families must also contend with one of the most expensive times of the year: the holidays. While headline inflation eased to 3.0% in December 2024, essentials such as housing, utilities, food, and transport continue to consume a large share of household budgets, leaving little room for extras.

Households that spend with their hearts in December often pay with their nerves in January. It’s not about becoming stingy - it’s about being intentional. December is meant to be enjoyed, but you’ll enjoy it far more knowing you haven’t sabotaged the year ahead. The smartest families don’t cut joy; they cap impulse.

Households should view financial planning as more than numbers on a spreadsheet. At every life stage, people want the same thing: stability, dignity, and the confidence that they’re doing right by their families. Good financial planning safeguards those goals.

As South Africans approach the end of 2025 and prepare for another year of milestones, transitions, and surprises, Multilink Financial Services believes the real advantage lies in stepping into each chapter prepared - not scared.

* Reyneke is the CEO of Multilink Financial Services

PERSONAL FINANCE