You enjoyed your holiday season to the fullest – great gifts for everyone, parties and evenings out with family and friends. But now the credit card bills are arriving, and you are feeling the pain and misery of your holiday spending hangover.
3 steps to help you recover and get yourself back on track:
- Take a Break: From the plastic, that is. No need to abstain from all spending, but moving to a “pay cash” system and avoiding the use of credit cards, at least until the holiday bills are paid in full, will help to get your responsible spending back on track.
- Replenish: With a traditional party hangover, it is important to replenish your body with water and healthy foods. Similarly, with a spending hangover, it is important to replenish your bank account. Rebuild your savings to get your New Year off to a solid start.
- Exercise: Set a spending plan and stick to it to get your finances off to a healthy start. Map out your monthly spending and monitor. Just like a healthy exercise plan, tracking is the best way to ensure success.
Enjoying the holidays and special times with family and friends is important to your overall enjoyment of life. If you occasionally go a little bit overboard, simply follow these steps to get yourself back on track and on your way to fulfilling your longer-term financial goals.
Sandra Adams, CFP® is a Financial Planner at Center for Financial Planning, Inc. Sandy specializes in Elder Care Financial Planning and is a frequent speaker on related topics. In 2012 and 2013, Sandy was named to the Five Star Wealth Managers list in Detroit Hour magazine. In addition to her frequent contributions to Money Centered, she is regularly quoted in national media publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Research Magazine and Journal of Financial Planning.
Five Star Award is based on advisor being credentialed as an investment advisory representative (IAR), a FINRA registered representative, a CPA or a licensed attorney, including education and professional designations, actively employed in the industry for five years, favorable regulatory and complaint history review, fulfillment of firm review based on internal firm standards, accepting new clients, one- and five-year client retention rates, non-institutional discretionary and/or non-discretionary client assets administered, number of client households served.
Any opinions are those of Center for Financial Planning, Inc., and not necessarily those of Raymond James. #C13-002512