How to avoid financial stress during the holiday season

Stop buying unneeded things

Don't buy gifts - the gift of being together with people you like is enough.

Don't use credit cards. They charge loan shark interest rates. Save for things. If you can't pay for something with what you have, don't buy it. Edible gifts are the best gifts, and don't have to be expensive to be enjoyable.

If you are crazy enough to be having a family get-together, instead of any gifts, each person could contribute part of the feast, pre-arranged in advance. Bonus points if you grew it yourself. Buy a couple of bottles of decent wine and lots of cheap plonk. After a couple of glasses nobody will notice. Don't argue about anything, not even Donald. Smile and agree with everything your relatives say. You won't change their minds on anything. It's really not worth the aggro. Just focus on surviving.

Alternatively, save yourself the trauma and opt out. Explain that you have work due to staff shortages or because your boss is evil, or to help you get a promotion.

Stop spending money!

All those consumption deniers here...lol What do you think a capitalist economy in our free part of world is running on? Overconsumption of overproduction, exactly. No one forces you to buy anything and also I don't make an useless attempt to teach you, but look, if you have an employment or other paid work your monthly income depends on, and everyone else also denies or avoids consumption in general or buying useful or useless presents for Christmas, maybe something you produced or sell in your business, or components and pre-products of it, well, I really hope you get the point here, then everything tumbles down and will take you with it just in the first round of the economic catastrophe. No, folks, just buy what you need, what you like or what is now looking useless but maybe precious in the future. Merry Christmas to everyone, and also this you don't know how few you have left to enjoy during your only one lifetime.

Don’t spend what you haven’t got.

Credit cards are great so long as you pay them off at the end of the month. I put aside the money as I spend it in to a high interest account, so I get the interest not the credit card company. So I spend only what I have/can afford but use the benefit of a credit card.

Also buy in sales earlier in the year.

Try dressing in ragged clothing and not combing your hair. This will lower people's financial expectations of you, and you will be invited to fewer parties, saving lots of money and avoiding boring conversations and fattening alcoholic drinks.