The holidays can be a time when families come together, celebrate the season and share in memories of the past. It’s also a time when pressures from family, friends and work can seem overwhelming. Sometimes it feels more that we’re surviving the holidays than celebrating them.

It’s at times like these that we can feel pressure to spend more than our budgets will allow. However tempted we may be, it’s important to remember that we owe it to ourselves to be responsible and stick to our budgets, even when we’re inundated with offers to buy.

To help you cope, here are four easy ways to survive the holidays.

1.  Don’t Take The Holidays Too Seriously

The holidays can bring on a complicated mix of emotions. We often feel pressure to not show how we’re feeling over the holidays. Instead, we may be tempted to indulge in “retail therapy.” This is exacerbated by plenty of advertising that is ready to yank at our heartstrings and our wallets.

It’s important to remember, that the holidays are seldom perfect and that we’re all human. We’re allowed to feel sad, frustrated and angry, what’s important is that we don’t hide our feelings, and instead process them in a healthy way.

2.  Stay Healthy

Holiday celebrations mean that there’s always lots of food and alcohol around. It also makes us less motivated to get to the gym. However, staying healthy during the holidays should be a priority.

Make sure you don’t let your fitness regimen fall by the wayside. Instead, make it a priority.

While the occasional indulgence is fine, be careful about overdoing it on treats and alcohol. The resulting mood swings can be bad for your health and in turn bad for your sense of self.

3.  Give with Purpose

Over the holidays we’re inundated with requests to make charitable donations. There’s nothing wrong with giving something back, but make sure that you’ve accounted for it in your budget.

Instead of giving a few dollars out here and there, make specific donations to causes you care about before the end of the year. You’ll get the joy of giving, and you’ll be able to deduct it from your taxes in the coming year.

If you want to contribute without spending money, offer to volunteer. You’ll get first-hand experience with causes you care about, and you’ll appreciate what you have all the more.

4.  Stick to Your Spending Plan

The most important thing you can do to survive the holiday season is to create a spending plan and stick to it.

When you know how much you should spend, and how you plan to spend it, you can stay on track.

Don’t have a spending plan? That’s why we created the Ultimate Holiday Budget Spreadsheet.

This incredible resource allows you to set a holiday budget that fits your income, and lets you plan all your holiday expenses before the start of the season. It also provides you with an easy to use holiday shopping planner that allows you to track the cost of every gift before you visit the store. That way, you’re less tempted to buy things that aren’t on your budget.

Want to create a budget for after the holidays?

Schedule a free counseling session today or call us at 800-920-2262.