After the Holidays: Hardcore Ways to Get Your Budget Back on Track
- Even if you go into the holiday season with a plan, you may still overspend.
- Don't let holiday debt stop you from making progress in reaching your financial goals.
- You can learn from your mistakes by taking action to get your budget back on track after the holidays.
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The holidays can be a delightful time—full of traditions, loved ones, and moments you want to make special. Between gifts, gatherings, and seasonal events, holiday spending can add up fast.
And if your bank account took a hit—or you went over your budget—try not to be too hard on yourself. It happens, and it’s absolutely possible to bounce back. You can learn to manage financial setbacks, including holiday overspending, one step at a time.
Ready to take steps to recover? Here are a few hardcore ways to get your budget back on track after the holidays.
Commit to a No-Spend Month Challenge
If you took on some holiday shopping debt, a great way to get back on track is to commit to a no-spend month. A no-spend month is a budgeting challenge where you only spend on essential bills and expenses. For example, rent or mortgage payments, utilities, groceries, gas, and monthly debt repayments.
Many people decide to try a no-spend challenge at the start of the new year. This can be a great way to pay yourself back for any overspending during the holidays. The money you save by side-stepping impulse purchases could also help you build an emergency savings fund.
Make it Harder to Shop
If you're worried that your online shopping habits may undermine your financial goals, adding a few barriers could help.
These moves could make it harder to hit the checkout button:
Remove saved payment methods. Most shopping apps and retailer websites let you save your credit card details to make checkout faster in the future. Deleting saved payment methods can force you to pause before every purchase.
Delete shopping apps. Mobile apps for your favorite retailers make shopping more convenient, and having these apps on your phone could lead you to overspend. Now is a good time to delete these apps so you can focus on your goals.
Unsubscribe from retail marketing emails. A constant flow of sales emails hitting your inbox is intended to encourage you to spend more money. Unsubscribe from these emails to reduce the temptation to shop.
Revisit Your Big Financial Goals
After holiday overspending, big financial goals might feel overwhelming or out of reach. A few simple steps could keep your momentum going.
Take some time to review your bigger money goals, then break them down into smaller milestones. That can make your goals feel more manageable.
Let's say you want to pay off $7,800 of credit card debt in the next 12 months. Instead of focusing on a large sum, break it down into smaller chunks. You might commit to reducing your debt by $650 each month so your plan feels more achievable.
Write down a few expenses you might cut or changes you could make to reach that monthly amount. If you fall short one month, don’t beat yourself up. The next month is a new opportunity to hit your target.
Make Big Life Changes to Fast-Track Debt Payoff
In the wake of a financial setback, you can still work toward achieving debt relief. Explore ways to move forward. If you're willing to make some adjustments, you may be able to live a debt-free life sooner than anticipated. And your changes don’t have to be permanent.
Get a roommate or move in with family
Reducing your monthly housing expenses could allow you to put more money toward debt repayment. If you have room in your home, you may want to get a roommate to split your rent or mortgage costs. Another option is to move in with a family member.
Sell your car
If you live in an area with accessible, affordable public transit, selling your vehicle may make financial sense. Write down what you've been spending on gas, inspections, parking, maintenance, repairs, and car insurance. Think hard about how you might switch to public transportation, which is almost certainly cheaper, and look at the difference in price so you can make an informed decision.
Get a side hustle or part-time job
If your schedule allows, you may want to get a side hustle or find a part-time job. Increasing your income even by $100 a month could give you more money to put toward debt repayment so you could get rid of debt faster.
Work with a professional debt relief company
You don’t have to do it alone. Debt relief experts can help guide you toward a better financial future.
One option is debt settlement, which involves negotiating with your creditors to reduce your debt. If you have a financial hardship and can’t afford your debts, this strategy could provide financial relief and reduce stress.
Another strategy is debt consolidation, which could save you money on interest and make debt repayment more manageable. If you can afford your payments but you want to make your debt easier to manage, debt consolidation could simplify your payments and possibly reduce your interest rate.
Start Budgeting Now for the Next Holiday Season
It’s empowering to prepare for the future. You can learn from your experiences and take steps to have a more financially sound holiday season next year.
Outline a realistic holiday budget for the following year. Calculate how much you need to save each month so you have enough money to pay for gifts, celebrating, and holiday parties without ultimately finding yourself looking for credit card debt relief. One easy way to help you stay on track is to set up an automatic savings transfer to a dedicated holiday savings account.
Focus on What You Can Do Now
Spend your energy on what you can do now to improve your financial wellness.
A look into the world of debt relief seekers
We looked at a sample of data from Freedom Debt Relief of people seeking the best debt relief company for them during December 2025. This data highlights the wide range of individuals turning to debt relief.
Credit utilization and debt relief
How are people using their credit before seeking help? Credit utilization measures how much of a credit line is being used. For example, if you have a credit line of $10,000 and your balance is $3,000, that is a credit utilization of 30%. High credit utilization often signals financial stress. We have looked at people who are seeking debt relief and their credit utilization. (Low credit utilization is 30% or less, medium is between 31% and 50%, high is between 51% and 75%, very high is between 76% to 100%, and over-utilized over 100%). In December 2025, people seeking debt relief had an average of 74% credit utilization.
Here are some interesting numbers:
| Credit utilization bucket | Percent of debt relief seekers |
|---|---|
| Over utilized | 30% |
| Very high | 32% |
| High | 19% |
| Medium | 10% |
| Low | 9% |
The statistics refer to people who had a credit card balance greater than $0.
You don't have to have high credit utilization to look for a debt relief solution. There are a number of solutions for people, whether they have maxed out their credit cards or still have a significant part available.
Personal loan balances – average debt by selected states
Personal loans are one type of installment loans. Generally you borrow at a fixed rate with a fixed monthly payment.
In December 2025, 44% of the debt relief seekers had a personal loan. The average personal loan was $10,718, and the average monthly payment was $362.
Here's a quick look at the top five states by average personal loan balance.
| State | % with personal loan | Avg personal loan balance | Average personal loan original amount | Avg personal loan monthly payment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts | 42% | $14,653 | $21,431 | $474 |
| Connecticut | 44% | $13,546 | $21,163 | $475 |
| New York | 37% | $13,499 | $20,464 | $447 |
| New Hampshire | 49% | $13,206 | $18,625 | $410 |
| Minnesota | 44% | $12,944 | $18,836 | $470 |
Personal loans are an important financial tool. You can use them for debt consolidation. You can also use them to make large purchases, do home improvements, or for other purposes.
Regain Financial Freedom
Seeking debt relief can be the first step toward financial freedom. Are you struggling with debt? Explore options for debt relief to regain control of your finances. It doesn't matter how old you are or what your FICO score or credit utilization is. Take the first step towards a brighter financial future today.
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Author Information
Written by
Natasha Etzel
Natasha is a contributing writer for Freedom Debt Relief. She is a veteran professional financial writer. She provides realistic strategies to help readers improve their knowledge and change their financial situations.
Reviewed by
Kimberly Rotter
Kimberly Rotter is a financial counselor and consumer credit expert who helps people with average or low incomes discover how to create wealth and opportunities. She’s a veteran writer and editor who has spent more than 30 years creating thousands of hours of educational content in every possible format.
How can I get back on track after overspending?
To get back on track after overspending, first acknowledge the situation and review your finances to figure out what changes you can make. One way to get your budget back on track after the holidays is to set clear, manageable goals, such as reducing your spending by $200 a month or putting an extra $150 toward debt repayment.
Another possibility if your schedule and life permit: look for ways to increase your income so you can repay your holiday shopping debt faster. Picking up a side hustle, selling unwanted items around your home, or renting out an extra room to a roommate could generate some quick cash.
How can I avoid holiday debt in the future?
To avoid overspending during the holidays, try the following strategies:
Create a budget
Set aside money throughout the year for holiday spending
Shop sales and deals
Or you could come up with a thoughtful, personalized DIY gift. For example, you might bake holiday treats, go thrifting for presents, or create custom coupons for activities like a picnic in the park, museum visit, or an unusual class.
Are holiday loans a good idea?
No. Borrowing for the holidays is usually a bad idea. One reason is that most loan terms are longer than one year. So you'll already be looking to spend money on the holidays again before last year's holiday loan is paid off.