A poll that came from AARP said that the older generation will spend around the same amount this Christmas as they did last year.

Of those 65-plus, nearly half (45 percent) say they’ll spend less than $300

“We shop every week and buy gifts all year long,” says Fowler, who retired from IBM in 1990. “We don’t wait till the season. It’s easier, and we get as good a deal as ever because we shop while the stores have sales.”

Most people seem to want to avoid racking up debt this holiday season. More than three-quarters (78 percent) say they plan to buy their gifts with cash, check or a debit card.

Fowler, who lives on Social Security and his pension income, says he always pays cash for holiday gifts. “That’s the way I’ve always been, since the 1950s,” he says. “We don’t have any credit card debt.” – AARP

From these results, there is a lesson to be learned.  We should spend less money on gifts and more time with the ones we love.  We should experience a debt free holiday every year.  We should not wait until the end of the year to shop for Christmas and we shouldn’t use credit cards.

Spending less during the holiday season does not mean you will have less fun.  Make sure you plan an affordable holiday.

Create a holiday budget.  A spending plan is a good start for a cheaper holiday season.  Don’t forget to include the cost of decorations, food and gifts into your budget.

Make a gift list and don’t go over your spending limit.  Get your gift ideas down on paper before heading out to the shop.

You don’t have to spend a lot to give a nice gift either.  Remember what your budget is while shopping.

Shop at thrift stores, yard sales and flea markets or other second hand sources for gifts.  Maybe you know someone that likes vintage jewelry or antiques and you can find these things for cheaper at a second hand shop.

Make sure you don’t end up shopping for yourself on top of the other people you are shopping for.  You will end up with less stuff and more money in the bank.

Make your own cards.  The cost of holiday cards is really expensive plus you have to pay for postage.  You can also wrap your own gifts.  In store gift wrapping sometimes increases the cost of each gift by another couple of dollars.

It’s the holiday season, the biggest shopping season of the whole year.  It’s this time that many Americans end up with thousands of dollars in credit card debt they cant afford to pay back.  Here are some reasons to avoid using your credit card while shopping for the holidays.

If you have a debt on your credit card now, you will only be adding to it.  You will spend more money with a credit card because there is no physical sign telling you to stop spending.  Try to avoid using your credit card and use some cash you have put aside for holiday shopping.  You will pay more with a credit card as well because you pay interest on balances that you carry for more than a month.  Also, if you already had a balance on your card, you won’t get a grace period.  Interest will start adding up quickly.  The New Year will come and you will be paying off debt from the holiday season.  During the holiday season, there is also a much higher risk of credit card fraud.  Leave your credit card at home and reduce the risk of someone stealing your card while shopping.  In February 2010, a credit card rule will stop credit card companies from raising rates on already existing balances.  Banks still have around 60 days once holiday shopping ends to raise your rates before the new rules take effect.  You could be paying much more than you expected.  You could be spending more than you can afford.  When holiday shopping, it is difficult to keep a tab of what you are buying.

Many people willmax out their credit cards while holiday shopping.  You are now risking going over your credit limit once the finance charges kick in.  When a balance is over 10% to 20% of your credit limit, it has a negative impact on your credit score.

Buying more gifts than you can afford will only cause trouble for you in the near future.

Do not go shopping without a budget.  Going shopping without a limit will make it very easy to charge more than you can afford.  Before leaving your house to go shopping, you should figure out exactly how much you can afford to spend.

Once a budget is made, make sure to keep up with it.  Keep all of your receipts and check your account to make sure you are not spending too much every now and than.

Many are guilty of opening a new account just to get discounts.  Plenty of retail shops try to convince their customers to sign up for the store credit cards for better discounts on purchases.  You will be risking charging more than you can afford, in return affecting your credit score.

Never let someone else go holiday shopping with your credit card.  You won’t have any idea how much they are spending and if your card borrower does not pay, you will have to have extra money to pay for their balance.

Be careful not to leave your card somewhere while shopping.  Your credit card is targeted this time of the year more than ever.  Never let your cards get out of your sight.

If you are using your credit card to buy gifts because you don’t have cash chances are you can’t really afford the gifts anyway. If you don’t have money for gifts, don’t resort to credit. Instead, consider regifting items you’ve received or give homemade gifts.

Charging gifts for yourself because you “deserve” them.  It can be hard walking around the stores for weeks without getting anything for yourself. You’re going to see things you want to buy, but practice some self-discipline. Remember that while you’re out getting gifts for others, there are people out buying gifts for you.

Ignoring your post-holiday billing statement.  If you kept track of how much you spent, you can already guess that your first credit card billing statement will be higher than normal. Facing it sooner rather than later will help you get rid of that high balance sooner rather than later.