By Gayle Sato
Edited by Peggy BennettHelpful Financial Resources for the Holiday Season
Quick Answer
Get through the holiday season with your finances intact. These essential steps and how-to resources guide you through holiday budgeting, stretching your dollars, avoiding scams and setting resolutions for the new year.
Need help navigating the holidays with your finances intact? Here's a roundup of helpful resources to get you (and your finances) through the holidays and help set a course for financial success in the new year. We've included links to posts that guide you through some of the season's challenges, including holiday budgeting, seasonal gigs, maximizing credit card rewards and perks, avoiding holiday scams and resetting financial goals in the year to come.
How to Plan for Holiday Spending
Whether your shopping list is short or Santa-sized, planning is everything. A holiday budget can help you avoid overspending, buying duplicate gifts or forgetting important loved ones. Make a comprehensive list of gift recipients, including everyone who'll be expecting holiday tips. Then make a plan for what to buy and how you'll pay for it.
Is your holiday budget thin this year? Consider boosting your income by working a seasonal job or selling items you no longer need. You can also contemplate a holiday loan or a new credit card to help cover your spending, though it's best to avoid overextending.
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Ways to Save This Holiday Season
Getting the best holiday deals goes way beyond shopping on Black Friday and Cyber Monday—although, of course, holiday sales are a great way to save money. You may want to take advantage of credit card rewards or cash back cards, as long as you have a plan for paying off your balance quickly. Many credit cards also offer purchase protections like extended warranties. Opening a store credit card might buy you perks like first-use discounts or free shipping.
For many, the holiday season is a time for eating out and traveling. This can be a good opportunity to redeem (or rack up) credit card travel rewards, and shop for holiday deals on plane fares, hotels and car rentals. While you're spending on gifts, travel and entertainment, you may want to economize in other areas where you can.
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Tips to Avoid Holiday Scams
On a less jolly note, stepped up activity around the holidays can increase your exposure to scams. You may be stretched thin, frazzled and fatigued. Meanwhile, you're generating more transactions and managing more communications than usual. These factors, added together, can leave you vulnerable.
Staying alert is one of your best defenses. Think twice before mailing cash or checks as gifts, and be on the lookout for gift card scams. Be careful about responding to texts, calls and emails—even when they appear to reference recent purchases, loan offers or job opportunities. If you think you've been scammed, consider placing a fraud alert on your credit file to help guard against identity fraud.
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How to Make Better Resolutions
As the new year begins, give yourself the gift of a financial reset. Make time to establish good financial habits, recover from holiday spending, pay off holiday debt, deploy your holiday bonus (if you got one) and start saving for the next holiday season.
With the mad dash of the holidays behind you, it's time to settle in and set up a long-term budget, shore up your emergency fund and revisit long-term money goals.
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The Bottom Line
For all their financial challenges, the holidays bring the opportunity to connect with friends and family, and celebrate the relationships that give our lives meaning throughout the year. Planning and budgeting, spending wisely, avoiding scams and setting your course for a new year can all help you navigate the holidays successfully.
One additional tip for better saving and spending throughout the year: Build and maintain good credit. Good credit habits can help you save money on interest charges and avoid racking up excessive debt. A good credit score can also unlock great rates on credit cards and loans. Try free credit monitoring from Experian to check your credit score and report, and keep track of your credit all year long.
What makes a good credit score?
Learn what it takes to achieve a good credit score. Review your FICO® Score for free and see what’s helping and hurting your score.
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About the author
Gayle Sato
Gayle Sato writes about financial services and personal financial wellness, with a special focus on how digital transformation is changing our relationship with money. As a business and health writer for more than two decades, she has covered the shift from traditional money management to a world of instant, invisible payments and on-the-fly mobile security apps.
Read more from Gayle