First, Be Sure to Actually Create a Holiday Budget! 

Set your holiday shopping budget before you begin buying gifts and holiday items. Remember, it is often not just gifts that increase spending during the holidays. Extra décor items, travel, holiday parties, and holiday outfits are more ways that your spending can rack up quickly. Setting realistic spending expectations while figuring out what you can afford this year will help you to make wise spending decisions during the Christmas season.   

Set a Limit 

Having an open conversation with family and friends about gift-giving expectations can prevent misunderstandings and financial stress. Setting a dollar limit on gifts forces you to be more creative. If you have a lot of family and friends to purchase gifts for, consider a gift swap or secret Santa. This way, everyone will get a gift from someone, but each person only needs to buy one gift.  

Plan Ahead 

If you are someone who loves to go all out for Christmas, you may want to plan ahead to avoid spending more than you should. Set aside a small amount of money each month throughout the year so that when Christmas arrives, you’ll have savings ready to spend. A Peak Savings Account makes this easy — you can even schedule automatic transfers to build your holiday fund automatically each month. 

Think Outside the Box 

The best gifts are not always the most expensive gifts. You may need to get creative and think outside the box to find meaningful gifts that won’t rack up credit card debt in the future. Look through some of these gift ideas that won’t break the bank.  

Don’t Spend Money You Don’t Have 

This will save you the post-holiday hangover in January. Holiday credit card debt is not a fun way to ring in the New Year! Using your debit linked to your chequing account or cash ensures you spend only what you have. If you do want to use your credit card, aim to only spend money within your budget so that you can pay your credit card off in full next month.