It is little wonder that holiday shopping season is the most profitable period for merchants. For the retail industry, the largest percentage of their holiday sales comes from consumers, who have failed to plan all their purchases in advance or who are easily enticed into impulsive buying.

It all starts the same way for both of the groups. Retailers and consumers are both hyped about upcoming holidays. However, even though it all begins in a celebrating atmosphere, things get different after the holidays. While industry is happily counting all the money it has earned over the holiday season, a lot of consumers find themselves in an unpleasant situation with huge bills to be paid.

How many times you have promised yourself to pay all the bills in two to three months after holiday shopping ends? In reality, it could take up to 12 months, which means that with all the interest that has accumulated over time, you are overpaying for all the goods you have bought.

For many of us, this pattern repeats every year. Financial experts call it "holiday hangover". Careless usage of credit cards during holidays often leads to impulse buying, overspending and unwanted debt.

Given that the holiday seasons come the same time every year, you have plenty of time to prepare a plan that could help you manage your finances.

To begin with, credit counselors advice to sit down and choose one card that you are going to use for holiday purchases. A good credit card deal for this matter would be the one with low interest rates. Moreover, experts suggest that you don't use more credit than can be paid in 90 days. One thing to note here is that the longer the length of the loan - the higher the interest costs.

Plan your monthly budget in a way that could help you gradually save up some cash for holidays without going into debt.

Next, make a list of all the people that you need to make a purchase for. Assign a part of your total budget available for presents to every person on the list and don't go out of the bounds. If you feel like that someone deserves a better present, you will probably have to give some other person less valuable gift.

After you are done with the list, you next step is to make some comparison shopping. Provided that you have left enough time before holidays, this should be an easy task. Besides checking out actual retail stores, you might also browse through the internet to compare prices. This way you can save yourself some time and avoid tiring queues.

Prices vary from store to store and from one month to another. Most of the stores provide 10% to 25% on certain goods such as decorations prior to Thanksgiving and Christmas. You will need to decide what's more important for you: the selection or the price.

Once you run out of funds for your shopping list, put away your credit card. Try to avoid malls, unless you really need something and you are able to afford it. Besides, if you are unable to buy someone a gift, try to make one of your own. That will show how much you care about them and at the same time save you some money.

In addition, you may also use whatever rewards you have saved up for as presents for your parents, relatives and friends. A lot of credit card issuers offer gift certificates as well as cash rebates that can be used during holiday shopping season.

To sum it up, don't push yourself into the credit card debt each year. Plan your spending in advance and always do some comparison shopping. After you get familiar with the above steps, you will be surprised at how much money you will have available after holidays. Do not let retailers take control of your credit card spending. If you still have trouble keeping your credit card balance under control, contact your personal financial counselor.

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