My Finance Blog

I was watching the news earlier and almost choked on my dinner when I heard the anchors counting the days ’til Christmas. Who knew? Last time I checked, it was only July, how come it’s suddenly September? Holidays are great in every aspect except perhaps in the financial unless you’re teeming with money in your pockets. Here are some tips to keep yourself from going insane once the holiday season is over and your credit card statements start piling up.

1. You DON’T have to use your credit cards. Yes, it IS possible. A suggestion would be to start saving long before the holiday season. Even a small amount each month could total to something considerable by the end of the year. And don’t, by all means, be tempted to spend it for something else unless it’s an emergency.

2. Make a list (and check it twice!). And no, it’s not sifting the nice from the naughty. List everyone you’re handing out gifts to and make a specific budget for each. And once you do so, stick to it like gum under your third grade desk.

3. Pool money for gifts. If you still end up short for cash, ask common friends or family if they would like to pool money for gifts. This would save you all a bit of cash plus you’d end up with a decent amount of money for one person and could buy one great gift rather than several cheaper ones.

4. Restrain yourself. This is probably the hardest of all. It’s so hard to restrain one’s self during the holidays. Remember — live only within your means. Don’t buy ten turkeys if you can only afford one. Don’t whisk out that credit card to raid supermarkets and decide to worry about it later because you WILL worry, that’s for sure.

These are only some of the ways to avoid incurring debts during the holiday season. If you know you don’t have the money splurge, keep your holidays humble, after all, it doesn’t matter how MUCH you spend on a holiday but HOW you spent it.

Filed under: avoid debt