Use these tips to prevent holiday credit card debt and stop overspending at Christmas.

Christmas time is credit card time for a great many people. It can be easy to use that plastic on gifts and decorations, which leads to what has been coined “holiday hangover” for credit card users.

You can, however, avoid holiday credit card debt altogether by following a few simple tips and planning ahead.

Christmas Trees. Gifts. Decorations. Lights. These are all things that make our Christmas holiday bright and cheerful.

Unfortunately for many, it isn’t so cheerful when the credit card bills start arriving in January.

Be Like Santa Claus

No, don’t put on a red suit and try to go down the chimney. Santa makes a list and then checks it twice. So should you as a smart shopper.

Step 1. Make a list of the people you intend to buy gifts for and stick to your guns. Take that list with you and keep track of whom you have left to shop for.

Step 2. Decide beforehand how much you will spend on each person. Again, stick to the plan and you will be much happier throughout the holiday season. Just knowing you won’t have HUGE credit bills in January will cheer you up.

Save! Save! Save!

Open a savings account and put a little in there every payday. This savings account earns interest for you! It doesn’t have to be much. Think about it-$10 a week for 52 weeks is $520.

Make it $20 a week and you will have over $1000 for holiday shopping purposes!

All you do is put a little money away each week. You can even have it direct deposited from your paycheck. The good thing about these plans is that you can transfer the money to a linked checking account for easy use when shopping time comes around.

Use a Cash Envelope

Plan out how much you will spend total on Christmas gifts and items and put the cash in an envelope. This method is similar to the envelope system of budgeting.

Use cash for these purchases and when the cash is gone, you are finished shopping. What could be simpler for you to control holiday spending?

Plan

Sometimes, even though you save and pull cash from other areas, you just can’t hit everyone on your list. This can be an indication that you have gone a bit overboard or have actually overspent.

To avoid this problem, talk to the adults in the family and agree to exchange their gifts with them after Christmas, perhaps in January or a party during the week after the holiday.

You could also draw names and the person you draw a name for is the person you buy for. Every get something and everyone spends less money!

After all, Christmas is really for the kids, right? So adults should understand this easily. This gives you the opportunity to take advantage of the after holiday sales to purchase those gifts. You make everyone happy and save more cash to boot!

Shop Online

Shopping online has gotten better as time has gone by. The big retailers usually offer discounts and coupons that are only available for online shoppers, especially on Black Firday, the Friday after Thanksgiving, there are lots of deals to be had online.

Sites like fatwallet.com and slickdeals.net usually post great deals on all kinds of gifts.

Add in free shipping and you can save a bundle and don’t have to worry about stamps and shipping costs for out of town family members.

Have fun and never have to put gifts on credit again.