This time of year makes me kind of nauseous. No, I’m not sick, just sick I say, of a holiday season that would best be filled with spreading joy and good cheer rather than rabid spending at Toys”R”Us and Target. Oh no. What makes me queasy is the anticipation of showing my husband—in all its Excel spreadsheet glory—our holiday shopping list and budget.  His eyes go googly, he lets out a “Whaaaa?!?!” and gurgles something unintelligible.  It ain’t pretty.

I’m a sensible person. I give money advice for a living. So surely I’m not out of control with holiday spending. But for a guy who doesn’t regularly see money coming in and out of our coffers (that’s my job) the tally of what we spend on our loved ones and ourselves in the space of six weeks (including travel, accommodations, tips, gift wrap, cards, and decorations) would send many an adult to the Pepcid.

After the initial shock wears off, I remind him that we can afford it. We’re far from rich—it’s about making the gifts and the bows and the flights and pretty chocolates fit into the cash we have on hand. I haven’t gotten into debt from the holidays in ten years—and that includes grad school, when I was barely making ends meet. My strategy? Planning and tools. Arm yourself with these tips and join me in being debt-free come January.

• Before the holidays, calculate how much money you’ll need for all your holiday spending—including travel, party clothes, tips, cards, etc.—and pull together a list of all your expenses. 
• Be a Solomon and break people up into tiers. For example, I’d spend more on my sister than on my cousin-in-law (sorry Theresa). 
• Set an amount for each gift and stick to it! Should you fudge on the side of spending too much on someone, deduct the overage from someone else’s gift. 
• Keep your budget on hand, in mind, and as your screensaver or a daily pop-up. I kid. Put it in your wallet wrapped snuggly around your debit card or credit card (that you will pay off within receipt of the bill, ahem). I don’t kid.
• If you’re struggling with too many nieces and nephews, cousins and neighbors, ask the grown-ups around you to make it all about the kids this year—after all, they’re really the ones who enjoy unbridled (unexpense-filled) joy this time of year.  

More tips to keep you in the green, not the red, come 2008:

• If you must charge, pay it off pronto!  Preferably, before the ball drops in Times Square, or soon thereafter.
• Use one card—the one with the lowest interest rate—for all your shopping.
• Run away from department store cards and offers of instant discounts—with notoriously loan-shark interest rates, you’ll lose out on the savings if you can’t pay it all off within 20 days.  
• Comparison shop the heck out of name brands. See something you like? Look it up at pricegrabber.com or nexttag.com and see where you can get it cheaper, and with free shipping.
• Next year, PLAN! Know how much you’ll need and start saving up in September so you can keep holiday spending on budget and in cash every year.  

What strategies have worked for you to manage your holiday season expenses? Please share YOUR tips and stories by posting a comment.

Here's to a settled holiday stomach!