Breaks bring time to spend money, but Tahira Hira, professor of personal finance and consumer economics, warns students to stay within their budgets while shopping.

“There’s this whole story of January comes in and people have these blues after Christmas, because now they don’t know how to manage all the debt that they’ve taken upon themselves,” she said.

Hira recommends saving up for the holidays.

“That’s what planning is all about. We all know Christmas comes every year,” she said. “Take the total amount you spend last year [on christmas], divide it by 12 months, save the money and have a Christmas account and take that money and go spend it.”

Along with planning, Hira said to keep the credit card at home.

“It’s easier to get carried away with credit cards,” she said. “Just experiment with that. Say to yourself, ‘I have $40 to do whatever it is I’m doing, and I’m happy with that.’ It’s very different from spending $80 on your credit card because easily we can get out of control.”

While shopping for the holidays and presents are fun, creative and alternative ways to celebrate also satisfy the feel-good factor, Hira said.

“It would be really helpful if we sat down and reflected what this holiday is all about,” Hira said. “What am I really trying to do when I give you a gift? I’m trying to tell you that I care about you, I love you, you are important in my life. But if I went ahead and spent money that I didn’t have and gave you a gift? The thing is, I’m going to hurt myself.

“If you are my real friend or relative, you actually already know my financial picture and you will see that gift and say, ‘Oh my god, you shouldn’t have spend that money,’ or if you don’t say that to me in your heart you will worry about me,” Hira said. “So, I really think that we should say that if the purpose of this holiday is to make each other feel good. It’s a time that we take to get out of our busy life and reflect upon, tell everybody how much we love each other, how much we care and get together.”