Holiday Credit Card Debt? 6 Tips To Get Back On Track

We typically associate the Holidays with fun, good memories, food, and of course presents.

I didn’t grow up in the best of homes, but some of my best memories are of Christmas with extended family, opening presents Christmas morning at home, and shopping for and wrapping those presents in the days leading up to Christmas, which is why when it comes to Christmas with my little family, I want the holidays to be perfect.

Many families feel the same way, as is evidenced by the $630.5 billion spent on holiday gifts in 2015….much of which was put on credit cards.

Even at our house, with out budget, savings hacks, and shopping tricks, we sometimes find out focus drifting from making family memories to accumulating more and more stuff that we don’t need.

Toys that will be tossed aside in a few minutes.

Electronics that we think we “need” but don’t.

Far more food than is good for our waistlines.

And that loss of focus comes at a price.

I’m happy to say that we kept our focus this Christmas, sticking to the “One thing they want, one thing they need, one thing to wear, and one thing to read.” rule, and finding inexpensive ways to spend time together, but for many Americans, that’s just not the case.

{30 Ways To Make Holiday Memories When The Budget Is Tight}

There’s no shame in it if you went overboard this holiday and have the credit card statement to show for us. We’ve all been there.

There’s no shame in going overboard during christmas. We’ve all been there. Here’s how to fix it:

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What is important right now, as we enter into the new year, is coming up with a plan to pay off your credit cards and avoid the same traps during the next holiday season.

{4 Principles For Saving Smartly During The Holidays}

Coping with overspending is a 4- part process that deals with both the emotional and practical side of holiday debt:

Don’t Point Fingers
Return Gifts That Didn’t Impress
Prioritize Debts
Tighten Your Budget {A bit}
Find Ways to make Extra Money
Start Saving for Next Year

Don’t Point Fingers

Debt is no one’s fault but your own, so keep your fingers to yourself. While it may feel like you spouse/children/parents/extended family were at least partly responsible, playing the blame game will only start fights and stop the debt payoff process, so avoid it at all costs.

Just like with an addiction, admitting you have a problem (well, at least where Christmas and credit cards are concerned) is the first step to recovery.

The first step to fixing a spending problem is admitting that you have it – just like an addiction.

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Return Gifts That Don’t Impress

Did you buy your kids that must-have toy only to have them toss it aside after a few minutes, unimpressed?

Or worse, did they play with the box instead?

Kids don’t need a lot of toys to be happy, so instead of thinking they need to keep every toy they opened on Christmas, if you overspent, explain to them that the toy is going to go back to the store {if they’re old enough to understand}.

Make sure they know that the toy going back is no fault of their own, and emphasize that they still have plenty of toys to play with!

Prioritize Debts

Not all debt is created equal.

Purchases put on credit cards should take precedence over those that were the result of a loan. And with all debts, make it a priority to pay off those with the highest interest rates first. And if you took a payday or titles loan out to buy gifts, don’t waste any time paying it back!

Tighten Your Budget {A Bit}

Sticking to a bare-bones budget doesn’t make anyone happy, but if you can find ways to tighten the budget that you’ll barely notice, you may be able to knock out your holiday debt quickly and painlessly.

Try cooking from the freezer for a week at a time, cooking cheap meals for a week, pausing the expensive cable/satellite package for a month and instead subscribing to Hulu or Netflix, or even not eating out for a week or two at time.

Doing these things for a week at time won’t feel like much of a sacrifice, but you can really bank the savings and put it towards your holiday debt.

Find Ways To Make Extra Money

Take surveys online.

Sell extra stuff on Craigslist.

Find a virtual assistant job.

Work some overtime.

I could list thousands of ways to make extra money, but basically what I’d be saying is this: Find a way to make extra money that works with your schedule and interests and work it!

For a complete list of tons of ways to make extra money (even while you’re at work!) check out my Making Money Page.

Start Saving For Next Year

Just because we’re trying to create a more minimal Christmas doesn’t mean that you have to. So you enjoy lots of presents under the tree? That’s ok, as long as you save in advance for them!

Start saving early, in January, and determine the amount you need to save monthly by adding up the total amount you spend this year (before returns) and dividing it by 12. Then, place this number in your budget as a mandatory amount you need to save.

{Create Your Perfect Budget In 5 Easy Steps}

Make this amount just as important as saving for insurance, taxes, or vacations, because neglecting to save it will result in more credit card debt, which can cost you hundreds, or even thousands of dollars in interest while you’re scrambling to pay it off.

If you’re truly serious about avoid holiday debt, put a plan in place NOW. Here’s how

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Don’t be a superhero with this saving thing, either, thinking you can stick to a tighter budget than you actually can. It’s always better to save more than you need, then having to return gifts or miss out on gifts for yourself!

Holiday debt hits everyone -including personal finance pros – so don’t be embarrassed if it happens to you.

I know that we’ve been guilty of spending too much on the holidays, with and without kids, and so if you’re feeling overwhelmed at the thought of recouping your losses after Christmas, don’t lose heart! I made it using these tips, and you can too!