4 Holiday Spending Tips
To Escape Holiday Debt

It will be hard to feel jolly this holiday season if you’re neck high in debt.  Here are some holiday spending tips to avoid that holiday debt. It starts with a plan. Without a plan, you’re at risk of buying just about anything you see on the shelves out of desperation and the pressure of needing to get gifts now. But what’s the sense in getting into debt over gifts your loved ones don’t really need or want? Short answer: There isn’t any. How can you fight the compulsive urge to overspend and buy needless things? The answer is simple—start early! Begin planning and strategizing your holiday shopping now, and resist the temptation to buy unnecessary gifts that could have you seeking debt relief.  Follow these steps, and like Rudolph, you’ll go down in history.

1. Create a Holiday Budget: Vacations, holidays and birthday are among the events that people don’t always budget for, usually opting to shoot from the hip. The problem with that is that credit cards are usually involved and eventually, so is debt.  Due to the holiday pressure on consumers to spend big or go home, it is especially important have a plan laid out beforehand. Think of those on your gift list and budget out what you’re willing to spend on each of them. This budget should be in-line with your current financial situation, which does not include the use of credit cards. Think of what you can spend that’s actually your own money, assign a dollar amount to each person on your list, and stick to it. Even Santa’s elves have to have a budget.  
2. What People Really Want: Finding out what people really want is another one of those common-sense holiday spending tips that will save you from making unnecessary purchases and getting yourself into debt. Luckily, you don’t need to play the guessing game. You can either ask the person straight out, try to find their wish list— either hand written or online—or ask those closest to them what they might be hoping for. This way, there won’t be a lot of unnecessary and unwanted gifts passed out this holiday season; good for the recipient, good for you, and good for your wallet. Santa would approve.

3. Think Quality, Not Quantity: This might seem like strange advice, especially since the word quality is sometimes confused with the word pricey. But it may prove more inexpensive and less wasteful in the long run to get the people on your list the one thing that they truly want or need. Forget buying a million stocking stuffers, just for the sake of having a ton of presents under the tree. This doesn’t mean you need to buy someone a new car, simply the thing that you know they need or want and that will last longer than those cheap stocking stuffers. They will appreciate it more in the long run.

4. Get out of Debt Before the Holidays: There’s a chance you could already be in debt before the holiday season even arrives. If this is the case, you don’t want to get yourself into more of it. Start by trying to rid yourself of the debt you have ahead of time. Maybe presents won’t be overflowing from your tree this year, but your credit card balance won’t be overflowing either. Your children and loved ones will appreciate you more if you explain to them that getting out of debt is one of your Christmas wishes. Or you could suggest a year in which the holidays are focused on the true meaning of love, peace and togetherness, and not of overspending. If your debt situation is bad enough, you may need to seek the help of debt professionals. They can help you create a plan ahead of time to start really attacking that debt head-on, so that you can enjoy a happy and financially healthy holiday season. Ho ho, ho.

Need help with debt?  Learn more about how to get out of debt fast today!