It’s the most wonderful time of the year… until you check your financial statement. Let’s continue talking about how to enjoy the holidays with less financial stress (notice I said less—because let’s be honest, it wouldn’t be the holidays without some stress). Last week I briefly mentioned preparing for the upcoming holidays by budgeting appropriately for all of your anticipated expenses. That means including everything from Halloween candy and costumes, to the ingredients for your Thanksgiving dish (or the whole bird if you’re hosting), to white elephant office gifts, gingerbread house decorating candy, holiday presents, and let’s not forget champagne for New Year’s. The holiday season is looooong and usually more expensive than the gentle month of September that precedes it. Being prepared will help you avoid getting in over your head on credit cards and Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) programs.

Let’s be honest, we’ve probably all leaned on credit cards or BNPL (or both!) in the past during the holidays. They can feel like lifesavers in the moment. Credit cards offer rewards (hello, travel points to see family; hello, cash back after an expensive holiday season), and BNPL makes it tempting to spread out a big purchase into smaller, bite-sized payments. Used wisely, these tools can absolutely work in your favor.

But you know what they say, a hammer is just a tool, but you can still smack yourself in the face with it. A “$40 here and $50 there” purchase on BNPL can quietly add up to several hundred dollars hitting your account in January. And a very real danger here is the late fee. Miss a single payment and you could be hit with charges that snowball quickly, turning what felt like a flexible option into an expensive headache. Carrying a credit card balance into the new year, especially with interest rates hovering around 20% or more, can turn holiday cheer into months of stress.

So how do we navigate this? A few practical steps that I’m using myself this year:

• Set a holiday budget now: Write down all the categories—décor, travel, gifts, food, even that festive latte habit (Chestnut Praline for the win). If it has a price tag, put it on the list. Be realistic. If you get done and the total is shocking… well… it’s your budget, decide what’s actually worth the money and make cuts where necessary.
• Decide your “cash vs credit” rule ahead of time: For example, maybe groceries and travel go on your card (for rewards), but gifts are paid in cash so you stay within limits.
• Track BNPL payment schedules: Treat them like bills. Put due dates in your calendar so you don’t get hit with late fees.
• Use rewards with purpose: If your card gives cash back, earmark it for January expenses.
• Check in weekly: I’ll be reviewing my holiday spending each Sunday, so I know exactly where I stand before swiping again. Yes, it can be stressful to look your bank balance in the face during this time of the year, but knowledge is power and power means not going into major debt to celebrate.
• Frugality isn’t a four-letter word: Literally, it has many more letters. But what I mean is, this is the consumption season and being aware of that might help you remember that enjoying the holidays isn’t solely about spending money. Look for ways to repurpose, reuse, and reduce the need for new. Maybe you already have the ingredients for a classic pie at home and don’t need to try that trending new 48 ingredient Pinterest pie. Maybe your Christmas decorations are just as beautiful this year as they were last year and the newest décor trend is something you can look at as just a passing trend to be admired at the store but not needed at home.

The goal is to be intentional. Be intentional with the tools you use, the money you spend, and the reasons you’re spending it. After all, the holidays should bring us connection, joy, and good memories—not a mountain of debt bigger than the trash bag full of torn up wrapping paper.

Talk soon,

Chandler