Festival Season on a Budget: Slay the Look Without Slaying Your Wallet

From Diwali to college freshers' celebrations, Indian holidays equal clothes, presents, visits, and empty wallets. But you can celebrate without going broke with some preparation.

Style Advice

• Repeat but remix: restyle old clothes using fresh dupattas, coats, or accessories.

• Clothes Swap: For fashion, borrow from friends or cousins—just as Netflix does.

• Thrift: Look through offline markets like Sarojini or Colaba Causeway or Instagram thrift pages.

Decor + DIY

• Get cheap fairy lights, paper lanterns, or even reuse last year's stuff;

• DIY rangoli using coloured rice, flowers, or even chalk;

• Organise potluck Diwali events whereby everyone brings one meal.

Handmade cards or scrapbooks; bake cookies or create your own chocolates; gifts without bomb cost

• Affordable hampers from neighbourhood stores (buy in bulk, distribute among friends).

Tip on Finance: Create a festival budget. Sounds dull; saves lives (including future regrets). With careful planning, even ₹1,000 can be quite far-reaching.