"Avoid Post-Holiday Spender's Remorse" is a cross-post from Union Plus. 

Opening gifts each December is a ton of fun. Opening the resulting bills in January is not. Yet every holiday season millions of consumers use their credit cards to finance gifts they don’t have the cash to pay for. Consider the following before you start shopping this holiday season.

There are only two legal ways out of debt – cutting expenses or increasing your income. Decide which works for you and commit to it before you start shopping.

Prioritize.  What’s more important?  Paying your mortgage and buying food or giving gifts you can’t afford?  Consider shortening your gift list or giving smaller gifts to adults.  In times like these, friends and family understand.

Many purveyors of financial advice are trying to sell you something, whether it's insurance, a retirement plan or even a mortgage. But bias-free financial advice isn't impossible to find. The National Labor College has a great online resource, NLC Invested, which provides some helpful financial tips on major life developments such as saving for a home purchase, preparing for a new child, sending a child to college, retirement, debt reduction, foreclosure and more.