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You better watch out, you better no cry, you better not pout I’m telling you why…Santa is official coming town but he not going to help you with your spending habits. The holidays are here and the pressure is on to spend! Spending money this season reminds me a lot similar to college drinking. Yes I said college drinking. It’s seems like a great idea, you are so excited, you have a rush that goes over you the first couple of drinks. You even tell yourself you have a limit – no I wont drink anymore after this drink, but you take another cup anyways. All your friends are doings it, bragging about it, and there is even some music to give you the energy to fill up your next cup. You think the more you do it, they  more fun you will have but you’re wrong! You drink and drink until the next morning you realize you over did it. You are depleted, sad, regretful and swear you will never be this irresponsible again with drinking! 

Well you can do the same with holiday spending. It’s a great idea, you are so excited and there is a rush to go out and spend money on your loved ones. You might even have a spending limit and a list of things – that you wont go past your budget, but somehow you see somethings on clearance/sale and you have to have it! All your friends are doing it, out shopping for their family/friends, bragging about, and there is even holiday music blasting in the stores as you fill up your shopping cart. You think the more you shop, the better you will be doing with your gift giving abilities this year but you’re wrong! You spend and spend and swipe that card until the next morning you realize you overspent. You depleted your bank account, sad, regretful, and swear next year you will never be this irresponsible with spending for holiday gifts again next year. So you can binge with drinking and spending…and with all of these holiday parties coming that wont be a good combo.

Do you see what I am saying? Yes it is possible to get a financial holiday hangover, college kids aren’t the only ones getting wasted. You too can accidentally get wasted by looking at your bank account and see how much money you “wasted” overindulging on gifts. Have you heard of the Beyonce + Jay Z song “Drunk in Love“…well lets not be Drunk in Debt while sipping on too many eggnogs this year. It’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season and lose sight of the goals we’ve set to help us achieve financial peace of mind. While you may have gifts, greetings and get-togethers on the brain, it’s important not to lose sight of your financial goals.

Here are some money remedies on how to avoid the financial holiday hangover during holiday season & after shopping is over.

REMEDY #1: PREPARE FOR  A HOLIDAY BUDGET AND BE FIRM ON YOUR LIMIT.  This sounds like common sense, but a holiday budget is very important. Have a reasonable budget, an exact number you are willing to spend for all of your gift giving purchases that wont break your bank account. Don’t try to keep up with the Jones or go overboard and you know you wont be able to handle it financially later. Remember after the holidays you will still have your same financial responsibilities to tend to so account for your bills when you create this budget.

REMEDY #2: ALWAYS COMPARE PRICES BEFORE PURCHASES. Search for promo codes, and free shipping codes for additional savings while shopping online and even in stores. Download retail/deal-finding apps to see if there are additional savings, discounts, codes to use at checkouts before you pay full price.

REMEDY #3: SHOP EARLY. You do not want to be one of those people in the stores at the last minute scrambling to get your gifts. Sometimes when you are shopping in a frenzy, you have the ability to spend more because you are rushing and/or missing out on the original gifts you were supposed to get and overcompensate. Shopping early help you get it out the way, stick to your budget and list and you wont be tempted to spend more than you have to if you see extra last minute saving deals (that’s how they get you)!

REMEDY #4: CHECK BANK ACCOUNT OFTEN. It’s easy to splurge and continuously spend if you are not keeping up with your account balance. Do not guess how much you are spending or assume. Most banks have an app that can link to your account in real time what your current balance looks like. If you need to, after each purchase, check your account and check your budget to see if it is in alignment with your spending. This is not a great time of year to be worry about overdraft fees!

REMEDY #5: SAVE RECEIPTS . Keep all of your receipts together and check out how much you’ve spent in total. Did you stay within your budget? You might even need to take some items back or exchange it if your spent too much or the gift recipient needs to take an item back for any particular reason. You should also save your receipts for a possible price-matching opportunity if the item goes on a bigger sale.

FOR THE BLACK FRIDAY SHOPPERS

Capital One 360 is providing a gift you can bank on this holiday season. All of Capital One 360’s Black Friday Sale deals are designed to encourage you to keep their finances top of mind.Visit http://clvr.li/cap1bfs to give yourself the lasting gift of financial peace of mind by taking advantage of Capital One 360’s deals on banking, brokerage and mortgage products.

In addition to taking advantage of deals on banking, brokerage and mortgage products yourself, you can give your friends and family the gift of financial peace of mind by encouraging them to take advantage of the deals and refer them to the sale. If they sign up, you may be eligible for a $40 referral bonus.

I hope these tips help you not to overspend this season. We are not going to blame too many eggnogs for the reason you have a financial holiday hangover this season. You will be able to shop with a financial peace of mind without the guilt and the need to take an aspire the next morning with these responsible money saving remedies.

SPEND WITHOUT THE BINGE!

How do you plan on keeping your budget back on track this year to avoid the financial holiday hangover?

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.