Eight Tips for Surviving the Holidays and Sticking to Your Financial Goals

Amid all the joy and cheer the end of the year brings, the holidays can be a hectic — and expensive — time. Purchasing gifts for loved ones, making travel plans, attending parties and enjoying the multitude of festive celebrations and events that crop up can end up putting a strain on one’s finances and detracting from the positive spirit of the season.

But whether money is a bit tight this year or you are working toward a particular financial goal, you don’t have to sacrifice holiday cheer to stay on track with your spending. Consider implementing one or more of the following tips, as recommended by the financial experts of Kiplinger Advisor Collective, to help you avoid overspending and enjoy this special time with your family and friends.

Try traveling during non-peak times
“Opt for off-peak holiday travel to enjoy a well-deserved break without breaking the bank. This not only helps you avoid holiday crowds, but it also keeps costs down, allowing you to stay aligned with your financial goals. Planning trips outside peak times can get you better deals on flights, accommodations and experiences, ensuring a more relaxed and budget-friendly getaway.” — Dr. Clemen Chiang, Spiking

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Leverage debt mindfully
“It depends on what it means to you to ‘overspend.’ If you can plan ahead and purchase gifts over the next few months, you can avoid feeling the pinch of holiday costs all at once. If that's not an option, it's OK to use debt to support the holiday experience you want. Take care of yourself by understanding how your credit cards work and making a plan for how you'll deal with the debt come January.” — Dana Miranda, YOU DON'T NEED A BUDGET

Use free rewards and cash back
“Free rewards and cash back can boost your holiday shopping budget. For example, sign up for store loyalty programs that offer retail rewards that you can apply toward holiday gifts. Shop through cash-back portals like CouponCabin.com to earn money back on all purchases and use that cash to pay off your credit card. You can also turn receipts into free gift cards using a rewards app like Fetch.” — Andrea Woroch, Woroch Media Inc. / Andrea Woroch

Kiplinger Advisor Collective is the premier criteria-based professional organization for personal finance advisors, managers, and executives. Learn more >

Create a detailed budget
“To avoid overspending during the holidays, create a detailed budget that includes all anticipated holiday costs — gifts, travel, food and more. Set specific spending limits for each category and use cash or a prepaid card to stick to the budget. Automate savings beforehand and consider investing in experiences rather than material gifts to stay aligned with your long-term financial goals.” — Amrita Choudhary, Wasabi Technologies

Get your kids involved in the process
“The holidays are the one time of year when your children might be motivated to think about budgeting. Kids love holiday parties and trips, so show them your holiday budget and ask for their input. How would they spend this limited amount of money on gifts for the family? On a party? On travel? Not only can you save a few bucks, but you’ll also teach your children lessons that are literally invaluable.” — Howard Dvorkin, Debt.com

Consider the opportunity cost
“Start with the basic step of creating a holiday budget that does not put a strain on your finances. When you have the urge to overspend and blow through your budget, think of the opportunity cost: What would you be giving up or not be able to do if you spent that extra money? While it is tempting to overspend on our loved ones, you can often find experiences to do rather than lavishly spending, and it means more.” — Shawn Maloney, Retire Wise, LLC

Stick to your list
“Avoid impulse buys at all costs. To be successful with this, make a shopping list within your budget, bring the list to the store(s) you’re planning on visiting and only buy what’s on the list. This means no browsing other sections that are unrelated to your shopping list. If in-person shopping is too challenging, try shopping online to see what you can find there first and compare prices.” — Justin Donald, Lifestyle Investor

Set limits and save ahead of time
“If you overspent and carried debt balances beyond the holiday season in years past, it's time to get ahead of that inevitability. First, try to set limits on gift costs with family and friends. I promise that others will be relieved. Second, start putting aside a little money now; otherwise, you'll give it to the credit card company later.” — Stephen Kates, Annuity.org

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