Help your people minimize debt to boost profits, productivity, and impact. 58% of U.S. adults say that financial concerns cause them stress over the holidays, the top cited stressor. TrustPlus Senior Financial Coach Elise Nussbaum shares her go-to strategies to help people avoid and minimize debt over the holidays.

TrustPlus Senior Financial Coach helps clients avoid or minimize debt over the holidays

The holidays are a stressful time of year for 89% of U.S. adults according to the American Psychological Association.

Nearly 60% report financial concerns as a source of stress during the holiday season, the top cited stressor overall.

And every smart employer will tell you that employee stress is the death knell of health and wellness, profits and impact.

U.S. holiday sales are expected to grow by the slowest pace in six years, per the National Retail Federation, as shoppers slow spending on non-essentials:

“We expect consumers will continue to be more price conscious and pragmatic in their spending decisions, looking for discounts and better value for holiday goods, as still-high interest rates and lingering inflation in some categories continues to be on their minds,” says NRF CEO Matthew Shay, per Reuters.

This added price consciousness from financial stress adds to what is already a stressful time of year for the majority of U.S. workers.

Do your people have the financial wellness benefits they need to avoid the financial stress that drags on health and productivity?

Do your financial wellness benefits include a go-to financial expert with whom to create a holiday spending plan to avoid or minimize debt and the financial stress that goes along with it?

We speak with TrustPlus Senior Financial Coach Elise Nussbaum about her go-to tips to avoid and minimize debt over the holidays. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Tips to avoid and minimize debt over the holidays

How to avoid debt over the holidays?

Clients ask me how to avoid debt over the holidays.

Creating a holiday spending plan is the main thing.

Of course, life happens.

We are going to buy gifts for people, whether or not we have a shopping list with a budget.

But when we go into things without a plan, without a list, without a budget, it’s not going to be the most effective way to do what we want to do, right?

It’s not going to be the cheapest option.

It’s not going to be the least stressful option.

So if we’re thinking about, how are we going to reduce expenses, how are we going to reduce our stress so that we can actually enjoy the holidays and greet the new year feeling rested and rejuvenated?

It is going to be through a holiday spending and budget planning process.

How to create a holiday spending plan?

Create a holiday spending plan and budget: okay, sounds great, but how exactly?

First, we’ll make a list of who you want to buy gifts for, attaching a dollar amount to each person on that list.

We take that list of presents and add every food and travel experience you foresee, along with estimated costs.

Are you traveling to see family? How are you getting there, will you need money for gas, tolls, whatever?

We examine your cash flow and expected spending and create a plan for how you’re going to pay for everything.

And if our holiday spending plan includes going into debt then we ensure it’s the most affordable debt available to you so you’ll be debt free faster, for less.

To avoid holiday debt, avoid Buy Now Pay Later

To avoid holiday debt, we also talk about Buy Now, Pay Later, which can be pernicious.

It can trap you in this cycle where you don’t really ever finish paying things off.

Those payments cut into your cash flow for the next paycheck, and you may end up adding another purchase to that Buy Now Pay Later account.

Retailers love Buy Now, Pay Later because Buy Now Pay Later leads people to spend more than they otherwise would, to spend more than they have in their budget.

I’m all about setting up systems with my clients, so that it’s not a constant struggle.

We’re just kind of setting things in motion that help you achieve your financial goals. Buy Now Pay Later is an example of something that does the opposite.

It’s making something look very appealing and easy and risk free, while it’s undermining your financial goals, whatever they may be.

To avoid holiday debt, avoid store credit card offers

To avoid holiday debt, avoid store credit card offers.

You’re shopping, they pitch a card to you right on the spot. You get 10% off your purchase. You get some kind of bonus offer I like to read VERY carefully.

Because, again, the purpose of the store credit card is to make it easier for shoppers to spend more money at that store, right?

And they often have very high interest rates; they’re usually several percentage points higher than a card from a bank.

So, when it comes to the quality of that credit, it is usually not great, because it does carry those very high interest rates.

In the long run, it often does not pay to open a store credit card to get a discount or to get some kind of bonus.

Usually there are better products to help you achieve your financial goals which we’ll look into together.

To avoid holiday debt, start in January

To avoid holiday debt, start with some planning in January.

My favorite time to talk about holiday spending is in January, because that is when we have the best idea of what the holidays look like, spending-wise.

People can look back and really think about things that are still present for them when it comes to everything that holiday spending encompasses and how it fits in with their goals for the new year.

So, one of the goals for the new year might be setting up a dedicated savings account just for holiday spending.

With split direct deposit, a little piece of each paycheck goes into that account, which is dedicated to holiday spending.

January is also a good time to create a holiday spending plan and budget because any number is going to be much smaller when you divide it by 12 months as opposed to 3, which is what you’re doing when you start in the fall.

It is much easier on the budget to say, okay, look, it’s January. All told, we spent $1,800 on holidays as a family. I can do $150 a month between now and next year. I can do $75 a paycheck between now and next year.

So, it just makes avoiding holiday debt a lot more approachable for people.

Schedule time to speak with TrustPlus about how to avoid and minimize debt, and the stress that goes with it, among your people this holiday season and beyond.