Seems like the air-conditioners just stopped whirring and the kids just went back to school. Now the annual holiday round of gift giving, entertaining, family gathering and eating has arrived.
It's a time of expanding waistlines and shrinking bank accounts.Since this column deals with money-watching, not weight-watching, the recipes you'll find here aren't aimed at keeping you light. They are designed to keep your wallet heavy.
To do that, Money Matters -- a bah! humbugger of long standing -- has assembled a nationwide panel of grinches to help you stay out of the valley of debt. Some of their tips:
Make a plan
Start with a family sanity meeting, says Marc Eisenson, co-author of "Invest in Yourself: Six Secrets to a Rich Life." Decide what's really important, then look for ways to create inexpensive traditions.
Within that framework, put together a workable holiday budget, adds Diana Fedinec, education director of the Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Memphis.
List all your holiday-related expenses starting with gifts and decorations, include travel and entertaining and don't forget postage and charitable donations, she says, adding, "Add up the total and compare with what you have available to spend. If it's more than you can afford, look for areas to trim expenses."
Then, make a shopping list, set your spending limit and stick to it.
Work on a gift list
Include alternatives, says Paul Richard, executive vice president of the National Center for Financial Education in San Diego.
"Establish spending limits for gifts for each person on your list and start looking for bargains early," he says. "If it has been a challenging year financially, you need to shrink your holiday gift list."
Start by talking with people you usually exchange gifts with to see if they will bypass gift giving this year or if they will set low dollar limits. You may also decide to limit gifts to people less than 21 years old or, in families, choose one name from a hat and buy a gift for just that person.
Some gifts -- baby-sitting, hand-crafted items, baked goods -- cost much less than store-bought goods and may mean more to someone than something on which you spent a lot of money.
Shop early, shop smart
Never shop in a rush or under pressure because that can lead to overspending," Fedinec says. "With extra time, you can comparison shop and search for the best possible deal."
Sometimes, though, that may mean waiting to see if what you want to buy comes on sale, Richard adds. Shopping later in the season, especially for small gifts, wrapping and accessories, may allow you to buy at clearance sale prices. And you should ask retailers when those items you want to buy may be put on sale and check advertisements.
Richard suggests separating shopping trips in which you compare prices, quality and value from spending trips when you make purchases. If you don't do that, at least take a time out to ask yourself if what you've found is the proper gift and is within your spending limit.
Reschedule the holiday
Eisenson suggests this move in his book. Gifts cost less after Dec. 25, and travel is less expensive after the New Year's weekend.
Beware of the credit card monster
Some advisers say you should use cash only. "Charge cards tend to promote indiscriminate spending," Richard says. "Credit card users often say they had no idea how much they spent on the holidays until the credit card bills arrive in January or February the next year."
If you use only cash, you can enter the new year debt free, Eisenson adds.
Others say credit card use is fine, if you control yourself.
Fedinec suggests putting purchases on only one or two cards, using the cards with the lowest rates of interest, keeping track of card purchases by writing them down and clipping receipts to the list, monitoring that buying weekly so you know how much you've spent and not charging more than you can afford to repay within three months.