There’s something magical about this time of year when everything is trimmed with tinsel and various shades of red and green. But if you don’t have a spending plan for the holidays, you’ll likely end the year with too little green and deep in the red.

Your new year would begin at an all time low….with less momentum to take forward the gains made so far!

Many people get so carried away during the holiday spending season that they can’t dig themselves out for months, or even years.

With the holidays quickly nearing, now is the time to think about how you will pay for gifts, decorations and everything else that comes with the season.

Avoid using staff loans and short term borrowings from friends and family to finance your holidays by creating a planned outline of your financial realities. if need be, discuss with your spouse and financial dependents on your realities at this time.

Managing relatives at this time of the year could also be tricky…..you need to deploy more than your financial knowledge to deal with that. Whatever you do, do not succumb to pressures, anticipate them and take steps to confront them early enough.

Better still, use your financial planning tools.

The financial planning template can help you easily create a family budget and plan for future spending needs. This should provide you with critical balance information for each spending category at all times.

You must always know how much you have left to spend and how long it needs to last.

So, ensure you save today so that you can spend with confidence tomorrow.

Don’t let the holidays bills get you down! Plan ahead!