6 Holiday Shopping No-Nos

The following is a guest post written by Kathryn Katz, who is a Certified Personal Finance Counselor and works for Consolidated Credit Counseling Services.

No matter how much you love the holidays, if you’re like most people, you find yourself getting a little frazzled at times. Whether you’re trying to find the perfect gift, planning an impressive holiday party or scrambling to get all your decorations in place, there’s always an extra expense here or there that you didn’t plan for. Rather than get yourself in trouble this holiday season, try avoiding these Holiday Shopping No-Nos:

Getting into Credit Card Debt – That little piece of plastic can get you in loads of trouble during the holidays. Retailers are urging you to buy, buy, buy. Your kids keep asking for more, more, more. At some point, you break down a little and pull out the credit cards. However, with rising interest rates, additional banking fees and reduced credit limits, it’s really not a good idea to add anymore debt. The cost can just be too much.

Holiday Sale Madness – Retailers are tight this year, because of the recession. Many of them are offering great deals during Black Friday, Cyber Monday and other holiday promotions. The temptation to cash in on these deals is great. But take a moment and ask yourself, “Do I really need this?” If the answer is no, then it doesn’t matter how good the price is; if you never intended to buy it in the first place, and you do, then you really didn’t save a thing.

Thinking ‘It’s Just a Little Bit More’ – It’s really easy to justify an additional expense, by telling yourself, “It’s just a little bit more than…” But those little extra items can become some big expenses when you add it all together. Try making a holiday shopping list and sticking to it. Avoid adding little extras from the checkout aisles.

Friendly Financial Disasters – Shopping isn’t always a solitary activity. Sometimes, it’s easier and more fun to go with a group. However, there’s also a dark side to shopping with friends, they can often encourage you to buy things you normally wouldn’t get by yourself. If you’re in the habit of holiday shopping with friends, make sure you know your limits, stick to your budget and don’t let your friends talk you into getting something that you can’t afford.

Keeping Face – Your wallet might be tight, but you have a lot of people expecting gifts this year and you don’t want to disappoint them. You spend and spend because you’re afraid to admit that you can’t give at the same level you did last year. Stop putting pressure on yourself. The recession has hit many families hard this year. Holiday budgets are tighter and it’s only natural that you’re going to have to cut back on your spending.

Last Minute Holiday Shopping – Some shoppers wait till the last minute to go holiday shopping in an effort to get some last minute deals. They procrastinate till the day before and then go into a shopping frenzy. The problem with this method is that retailers might be out of stock on the holiday gifts that you’re looking for. Also just short of dropping, you might decide that you’re tired of being in the store and buy the next thing you see, regardless of the cost. In the end, last minute shopping spree might cost you more than if you planned and shopped in moderation.

Have you made any of these mistakes?  Can you think of any mistakes to add to the list?

Photo by stephand9.