How to stay out of debt this holiday season

How to stay out of debt this holiday season  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  VIEW IN BROWSER | SUBSCRIBE WED, OCT 30, 2019 YOUR WEALTH Editor's Note Whether Americans can afford it or not, holiday retail sales are expected to rise to $730 billion this year, reports the National Retail Federation. Pardon me if you think I am being Scrooge, but let me offer this stat: Americans, on average, racked up more than $1,000 in holiday debt last year and less than half of those folks said they could pay off that debt in three months. In fact, most said it would take five months or more. These people are suffering from the dreaded holiday spending hangover. That's when your Christmas spending spirit overtakes your Christmas budget. Luckily, there's still some time to take steps to avoid yet another holiday hangover. When deciding how much to budget for the holiday season, think of your real goals. Of course, the main goal is not to deplete your savings for one holiday season. Avoid a spending binge. Before going into a store or shopping online, make a list of the people you plan to buy gifts for and the total amount of money you are able to spend. Seriously, pause and reflect before you decide it's a great idea to buy that extra gift for your favorite niece or nephew. Think twice about going out for drinks or a third dinner in a week with friends to celebrate the holidays. Ask yourself, "Can I truly afford this?" Create a holiday spending budget right now. Start planning your income and anticipated extra expenses for the holiday months ahead. Of course, you need to include all your regular expenses, as well: rent, cell phone, utilities, etc. Start to track your purchases and be honest. And that doesn't mean only gifts. This includes entertainment, travel and holiday party expenses. Track what goes on the card, as well as cash out of your pocket. Another great trick to stick to a holiday budget is withdrawing the amount of money you have budgeted in cash and using only that money for your holiday spending. When it is gone, you have reached your holiday limit. This helps you avoid racking up credit card debt. Finally, it's never too early to start saving for next year's gifts. Start planning out how much to set aside in future months so the holidays don't drain the savings. The most common mistake people make is not planning in advance. Start that holiday planning and budgeting now. It's how you keep yourself accountable to make sure you're not consistently overspending and it will have you prepared when the next holiday rolls around. For more cool stuff like this, please follow me on Twitter @jimpavia and check out CNBC's Financial Advisor Hub and CNBC + Acorns Invest in You: Ready. Set. Grow. 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