Recovering from Your Holiday Spending Hangover

Podcast Transcription

Welcome to another episode of PFCU’s Money Talk Podcast, I’m your host, Maddy. Well, it’s here, the new year. New year, new you? New year, new goals? Or are you still just in holiday recovery mode? I wouldn’t blame you because I am too. The holiday season, is filled with colorful lights, delicious food, time spent with family and friends. But what about all of that extra stress?  Does money disappear faster? From gifts for your kids and your coworkers to your aunt and uncle that you see once year. And what about groceries? It’s nothing new that they’re expensive right now. Did you make the ham, bring a dessert, roll out all those cookies for Santa? There might also be travel for you. Whether you’re flying, filling up the gas tank or maybe even splurging on a hotel instead of staying with the in-laws? I had holiday stress for weeks leading up to Christmas and I even started shopping for gifts months in advance but I was still stressed and money was continuously being spent during that time. Not only the money but just the mental load of everything going on. All of those things that you forget about or maybe didn’t take into consideration like for me, it was frosting and sprinkles for my kids to make cookies for Santa, it was a gift for my son’s teacher at the last minute, it was tape and bows to wrap presents, and it was the second ham that we had to buy because the first went bad in our fridge the day before my family was coming over. Let’s just say, I was ready to take a breath. And now that it’s January and I have taken that breath, I’m faced with the holiday spending hangover and maybe you are too. Where the holidays are over but your bank account is still showing the effects. I want to share some tips so we can better prepare for this coming season even if it’s only January.

First and foremost, give yourself a little bit of time. Seeing the first credit card statement after the new year might bring some shock. Take time to think through some repayment plans and options and refresh yourself on the interest rates of your cards so you can make the best plan. Make some debt payoff goals and adjust you’re spending if needed to get that debt off of your plate.

As I said, you can adjust your spending and cut back in some areas but you might also feel it’s time to bring in some extra income if you want to pay off debt even faster. Ride-sharing or being a shopper for Shipt are popular options, you might even want to look into delivering for, like, Amazon. You could also sell items you no longer use which is not only a great way to make some extra cash but you could start the new year with a less cluttered space. I know I went through my house after taking down the Christmas and made a small pile to be donated, it wasn’t much but it felt really good.

Okay so now moving on to budgeting and prepping for this coming season. Whether you planned everything out and had a budget or not this past year, that’s always a good place to start. It won’t eliminate all of the stress but it alleviates a lot of it. Write down everything you anticipate needing to buy from the small to the large and put some cost estimates on those. It won’t be exact but it will give you a goal to save towards. Having extra for miscellaneous or unexpected things that might come up is really helpful as well. Slowly start rebuilding that savings account and take control of your finances again. And honestly starting in January or February means that you have plenty of time to do this and you won’t  be scrambling later in the year.  

 And I just wanted to share a few extra quick tips- take inventory of what you already have so you don’t buy things you don’t need. I am very guilty of this. I think that I need something, I go to the store, I buy it and then my husband usually finds it the next day and we already had it. A lot of credit unions have Christmas club accounts that you can put that holiday money into and they transfer it out usually in October for your holiday spending. Keeps it separate from your everyday spending money so you can easily save. Think about doing potluck style meals if you don’t already, rather than making everything yourself and having to buy all of that food for your family or friends. Get creative with your meal planning too and use items that might be tucked away in your pantry. Also think about buying second-hand or borrowing items that you might just use once or twice for the holiday season. And start looking for deals early and slowly shop, rather than waiting until the last minute. Knowing the best time to buy things like plane tickets or large ticket items, or getting a hotel is a good way to save some money.

Now I hope you can enter this coming holiday season confident, prepared and stress-free!