With Christmas just around the corner and many predicting 2012 to be a tough year for many Australians with their personal finances, we thought we’d concentrate on a few ideas for gifts you can send yourself!

They may not be the traditional idea of Christmas gifts; in fact we’re pretty sure they don’t fit in to the usual approach to seasonal cheer, but what they will do is set you on the right path to be able to enjoy future Christmases with your family without having to worry too much about whether you’ve got all financial bases covered.

1. A Personal Budget
Are you tired of arriving at the end of the month in a panic about being able to pay all the bills on time. Life is stressful enough without worrying about money and paying bills, so it’s time to take the stress out of the whole process and chart your expenditure.

You can use software on your computer if you like, or you can write it manually in a notebook; you can use online financial calculators to help. How you do it doesn’t matter; but doing it will be the best gift you receive because it will help bring peace of mind in the coming year.

Knowing exactly what’s coming in, what’s going out and what’s left over is basic to bringing order to your personal finances. As frightening as it may be…do it now!

2. A Copy Of Your Credit Report

If you don’t know where you stand it’s hard to change your position!

Knowing if you have any red flags against your name means you are empowered to do something about it: either challenging anything that is incorrect or going about improving your record on things that are working against you, credit–wise.

This allows you to takes steps to be more attractive to lenders in the future and should increase your chance of getting better deals.

3. A Close Look At Your Credit Card Statements

Examine your credit card statements, as scary as that may be.

Know what your minimum repayment is and use a financial calculator to determine how long it will take you to pay off your balance; then think about ways you can increase the monthly repayments above the minimum so that you can clear the balance earlier and save paying the high interest costs.

Clearing your credit card debt in the year ahead will pay dividends in the future and could be a real life-saver for your personal finances.

4. A Home Loan Check-Up

Are you getting the home loan deal you deserve? Have you checked the market recently? It is changing rapidly, with interest rate changes, abolition of some fees and more regulations coming in from the federal government.

It’s easier now to change home loans if you discover that your current provider is not giving you the deal you want; compare what’s available and give them a chance to offer you a new deal; if not, shop around – it could save you many thousands of dollars in the long run.

5. A Great Australian Personal Finance Website

Finally, you need to find a good Australian personal finance website or two that you can trust and help you with future decisions; you need sites that are not biased towards one or two particular banks, but which can help you with independent information, tips, advice and guides, as well as bringing all the latest deals to your attention.

These 5 “gifts” will ensure that not only the Christmas period is enjoyable for you and your family but the year ahead too. Make it top of your Christmas list to get your personal finances in order!