To avoid the remorse that comes with holiday credit, stick to cash and your debit card when it comes to buying gifts. You won't have the same spending power, but you also won't be stuck with large credit balances to haunt you on a monthly basis. If you have little willpower, cut up your credit cards to prevent yourself from using them. Otherwise, just store them in your drawer and leave them at home when you shop.

Give sparingly

That heading might sound a bit harsh, but you can save plenty of cash during the holidays by re-assessing your gift giving practices. A significant other, parents, siblings, and other close family members or friends should not be left out. At the same time, you may have given gifts to everyone in your cell phone's contact list, leaving your bank account drained once the holidays are over. Reduce your gift giving with those out of your close inner circle and divide your budget according to how much you plan to spend on each person within it.

Traveling? Plan ahead

Those who live far away from friends and family usually use their holiday vacation time to travel and make visits. Although it's hard to beat a holiday get-together amongst friends and family, the travel costs associated with such trips are often very high. The popularity of travel during the holiday season gives airlines and other travel-related companies the perfect opportunity to raise prices significantly.

You can avoid ridiculous prices if you plan well ahead of time. Trying to purchase a ticket days before you want to travel will dent your wallet, but doing so months or weeks ahead will give you a wider selection and a better range of prices to choose from. An even better option, however, is to arrange get-togethers with family or friends on dates that are not in the high season. This helps save money for everybody involved.