Many people are just about done Christmas shopping. Sadly, many have gone well out of budget. That’s so easy to do, of course.

If you’re still doing holiday shopping, take a look at where you are relative to your holiday budget. If things have gone overboard, figure out how you’re going to get it back under control. Better to do this now than to be paying off credit card bills for months and months in the new year.

If you’ve gone over budget and still have shopping to do, figure out if you can exchange things that are not within your budget. Perfect gift it may be, but is it worth the excess? It’s a personal decision, but good money management means you pay attention to these things and do what is necessary.

Get a little creative if budget is becoming a problem. Think of gifts you can give that involve more time and less money, for example. Make gifts. Grandparents often love framed photos of grandchildren, for example.

Don’t give in to the urge to spend to excess at this time of year. There are far more important things in life than great presents.

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