Tips on controlling your holiday spending

It's wonderful to be in the spirit of giving, of course, but think it through before you go gift-wild at the mall. Buying even modest presents for a long list of friends and relatives will add up fast. According to the National Retail Federation, holiday shoppers spent an average of more than $900 last year, and about one-third used credit as their primary payment method.

-- Best advice: Batten down the hatches and spend less this year -- preferably with cash.

-- Make a budget, check it twice. People who have a written financial plan are more than twice as likely to achieve their financial goals than those who don't, according to SimpliFi, an online financial-planning service.

Using a budgeting Web site such as Mint.com, you will be able to track your purchases and see a realistic picture of what you are spending. (As you budget for gifts, don't forget to set aside money for travel and entertaining.)

-- Don't gorge on credit. Keep your balances thin. Pay with cash or a debit card. If you're shopping online, be careful when using a debit card, because the safeguards against fraud are not as bulletproof as they are for credit. Try eBillme (http://www.ebillme.com), a service for making cash payments online. Provide your e-mail address and the service will send your shopping bill to your inbox. Then you can pay up using your bank's online bill-payment system.

You may have access to tools such as the new Blueprint feature on Chase cards. Blueprint can help you set repayment goals for the items you do pay for with credit and map out just how long into the new year it will take you to pay off those bills. Other issuers, such as Wells Fargo and Discover, offer tools to categorize your purchases.

Another way to rein in spending is to use a layaway program. Toys R Us introduced its Big Gift Layaway in mid-October. Other major stores, including Marshalls, TJ Maxx, Sears and Kmart, also offer layaway.

-- Trim the list. For several years, Sheryl Knox of East Lansing, Mich., and her family have been using Elfster (http://www.elfster.com), which helps organize "secret Santa"-style exchanges. Each member of your family or group of friends can focus on just one person. Elfster will also keep track of your participants' wish lists. And setting a spending limit, such as $50, keeps the stress and the materialism to a minimum.

-- Use technology to save. For clothing and accessories, tell Shop It to Me (http://www.shopittome.com) which brands, sizes and items you're looking for. It will send you "Salemail" each week. For items such as electronics, set up an alert at ZingSale (http://www.zingsale.com). It will search for sales from the thousands of online merchants and send you an e-mail when it finds a sale.

Look for savings coupons and shopping codes at sites such as RetailMeNot (http://www.retailmenot.com), which offers coupons from more than 40,000 stores.

Some sites offer free shipping all the time (Zappos.com, Blue Nile (http://www.bluenile.com), and others offer free shipping with strings attached, such as spending a certain amount before qualifying.

-- Think outside the gift box. Consider trading in some things you don't need to fortify your holiday budget. Gazelle (http://www.gazelle.com) buys old gadgets that you send in and even pays the shipping costs. Send the site your old cellphone and it will pay you via check or PayPal or even with an Amazon.com gift card.

Or give a gift that gives back. Some really cool gifts come with a tax deduction: Charitable gift cards let you give a prepaid card that recipients can designate for the charity of their choosing. For example, the Good Card, from Network for Good, costs $5 plus the donation amount. The recipient goes online to choose from the network's 1.8 million charities. And you can deduct 100 percent of the amount on your taxes.

Gifts from Heifer International include a Trio of Rabbits for $60, a Water Buffalo for $250 or Honeybees for $30 for impoverished families around the world. The recipients of your gift will get a card letting them know you've donated, say, a water buffalo in their name. You will receive a tax deduction for the gift if you itemize on your tax return.

Finally, consider giving of yourself. For only the cost of your time, you can spread some real holiday cheer. Consider replacing this year's holiday dinner party with a trip to the local soup kitchen.

-- Kiplinger's Personal Finance