Alva James-Johnson: How to avoid Christmas debt in 2016

Christmas is a wonderful time of year, but there's always that hangover when the bills come rolling in.

After the holiday high, you're left wondering where all your hard-earned dollars went.

There's that festive sweater that you bought for your husband, of course, and the latest technology that your kids just had to have before next year's upgrade. Not to mention all the other people you add to the list because, well, they're just so nice -- a budget-buster, for sure.

If you believe in Santa Claus, there's always a way out.

Just send all the Christmas bills to the North Pole and let Santa pay for it, since he's the one getting all the credit for the gifts anyway.

For the rest of us, it's not so easy. We just have to pay up and vow to do better next time.

But Christmas shopping is so much fun, and who can resist the holiday music that makes it so easy to spend at the local mall? It begins as early as Thanksgiving, which gives us lots of time to deplete our bank accounts and pile on the credit card debt.

Plus, paying Christmas bills is like giving birth, before long you'll forget the pain and be back at it all over again. It's just the price you pay for a Merry Christmas, right?

Well, if all of this sounds familiar, you're not alone.

"Consumer counseling agencies see a 25 percent increase in the number of people seeking help in January and February, and most of that traffic is propelled to their doors by holiday bills that haunt consumers like the ghost of Christmas past," according to an article at abcnews.go.com.

So what can you do to avoid such a scenario a year from now?

Jasmine Williams, a contributing writer at CreditDonkey, a credit card comparison and financial education website, offered the following advice:

Instead of waiting until the last minute to do your Christmas shopping, space out your purchases over the weeks leading up to Christmas.

Treat credit cards like cash and don't spend more than you can afford to pay back by the end of one payment cycle.

Set a spending limit and cap your gift-giving budget to an amount that's affordable for you.

Be realistic about what you can give and think of thoughtful gift ideas that keep you from overspending.

Take advantage of cash back rewards programs so you can earn points that can be used to purchase gifts next year.

So that's my gift to each one of you as you celebrate this wonderful holiday -- a debt-free Christmas 2016.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Alva James-Johnson, 706-571-8521. Reach her on Facebook at AlvaJamesJohnsonLedger.

This story was originally published December 24, 2015 at 4:51 PM with the headline "Alva James-Johnson: How to avoid Christmas debt in 2016 ."