I Overspent During the Holidays—Here’s How I’m Coming Back From It

I had every intention of staying on or under budget this holiday season. I told myself I was “cutting back,” and to be fair, I did! But I still spent way more money than I wanted to. I don’t know if my overspending has more to do with my lack of self-control or the fact that everything is just so damn expensive these days, but either way, I have a giant hole in my wallet and extra credit card debt in tow.

The holidays are such a fun time of the year, but it’s way too easy to overspend and get off track with your financial goals between festivities, holiday outfit planning, and gift-giving. Trust me, I’m a perfect example of this. Even if you carefully laid out a holiday spending plan ahead of time, unexpected costs add up quickly. If you’re with me and are feeling a bit panicky about it, know this: It’s never too late to revisit your overall financial plans and recover from the season. Here’s how we can recover:

Return to your regular budget

Get back to your regular budget and everyday spending habits as soon as possible. It can feel tempting to throw in the towel after overspending and delay tackling some of the habits that snuck in over the holidays. But it’s a similar mentality to what the best nutritionists share about splurging: Don’t have a “diet starts on Monday” mentality. There is no better time than now to make changes for the better.

Dining out and groceries are some of the sneaky budget categories that get out of whack this time of year, so look there first for places to reset. If that means that your morning coffee budget is usually $2, wave goodbye to your specialty $5 cup for a while, or stop buying coffee out altogether. Similarly, it’s time to wean off high-end grocery items like that fancy brie you’ve been hyper-fixated on over the last few weeks. This doesn’t mean you have to avoid the latte and yummy cheese joy forever, but for now, cut back anywhere you see additional spending.

Make a concrete plan for recovering your accounts

Open up all of your holiday bills and take a close look at the damage. As someone with an anxious-avoidant money attachment style, I know this isn’t easy to do. However, it’s the only way to know how much and how fast you need to recover. In the holiday rush, it is easy to forget expenses that happened earlier in the season, so you want to be sure you have a complete picture of what needs to be taken care of.

Be very detailed, and challenge yourself to define exactly what you can pay off and when. You will be much more likely to reach your payoff if you set concrete numbers and deadlines. For example, you might decide to take 10 percent of your “fun money” from your next four paychecks and allocate it to your debt instead. In my experience, the easiest way to hold yourself accountable for this is by automating your accounts to move the money for you. You can do this by adjusting your direct deposit, or you can enlist the help of a budgeting app that can pull your money into various saving categories.

Make a plan to increase your revenue

Budget cuts can only go so far. At some point, a more fulfilling option can be finding ways to add to your income. This can look several different ways, and the new year is a perfect time to think about all of these options. Have you been considering a side hustle? It’s time to act on your dream or bulk up your client prospecting to bring in a little more cash. Could your closet use a clean-out? Find the best ways to sell some of your old clothes, which likely got bumped out of rotation by a few holiday purchases anyway! Not only will you bring in some money, but you’ll also start the year feeling a little lighter.

Alternatively, what can you cut back on that will keep more money in your pocket? For example, I am canceling some of my streaming subscriptions for the new year—I literally never use 3/5 of the ones I pay for. And last but not least, the beginning and the end of the year usually come with bonuses or a raise (hopefully!). Strategize how you will allocate the extra income, or practice your negotiating skills to earn a salary increase. If this isn’t your reality this year, make a plan now for how you can best allocate your tax return money.

Decide what changes you need to make for next year

Throughout this process, you might have noticed some line items that didn’t necessarily need to be as high or on your statement at all. If you’re like me, you’re cringing at your expensive holiday manicure and the new holiday dress you bought that you’ll never wear again. Maybe you even accidentally doubled the amount of money you planned on spending on your siblings (me!) or forgot to budget for gifts altogether. Office pals, neighbors, and hair professionals are all categories I regularly forget to budget for, but they can make up a big portion of expenses! Further, I used to not have a separate line item for wrapping paper and Christmas cards, but after a few Target runs, those became too much to leave out of the holiday budget as well. (Christmas cards and stamps cost me over $60 this year…!)

Decide what needs to be different for next year and document your budget changes in a notebook or on your phone (I also like to email myself!). This way, you’ll have your plans handy when the holiday season rolls around again. Do you need to start saving mid-year or adjust savings rates? Schedule an email or set a calendar reminder for then. Moving forward, our goal is to be proactive instead of reactive to avoid overspending.

Give yourself a break

Feeling guilty about overspending is normal, but dwelling on it isn’t going to help you! At this point, what’s spent is spent (unless you’ve still got some returns!). Costs during this time of year usually result in memories and traditions and in the pursuit of celebrating with your loved ones. Instead of feeling guilty about your choices to go off budget, think about how much you appreciated the holiday experiences and memories you had.

Further, know that someone in your circle probably experienced some overspending, budget-busting moments as well, meaning it can be even more appreciated if you go the extra mile to send a thank you for any gifts, experiences, or hosted events you enjoyed from someone else.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Elle Harikleia, Contributing Writer

Elle is a writer, economist, and neutrals-obsessed New Yorker with a passion for solving style. She is a believer in the oxford comma, white after Labor Day, and eating dessert first.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Hailey Bouche, Associate Editor

As an Associate Editor for The Everygirl, Hailey Bouche oversees, writes, and edits content across various categories on the site. From the pitching stage through publishing, she works alongside the team to ensure that the content that our readers see every day is inspiring, relatable, and timely.