How to keep your holiday spending under control amid inflation and product shortages

With the economy still recovering, consumer demand still robust, and inflation at historic levels, the 2021 holiday season may be the most expensive ever. Of course, that doesn't mean you have to spend more money than ever. With proper planning, a little bit of organization, and some rather practical restraint, you can make it to January without financial regrets.

The final six weeks of the year typically are more expensive than the previous 46 weeks. If you don't go into this period with a spending strategy, you'll spend more than you intend to, and based on how expensive everything seems to be right now, you might actually damage your finances.

The pesky thing about holidays and money is if you consistently justify your spending with "it's OK, it's the holidays," it's not OK. The season of excess often leads to, well, excess.

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Turkey Day price hike

Thanksgiving alone could be financially problematic this year. With the highest rise in consumer prices in over 30 years, driving to grandma's with a car full of food to share will put an early dent in the holiday budget. Even the breakfasts you'll enjoy after a festive evening will be prohibitively expensive, as bacon prices are up more than 20%.

Create a spending plan for the holiday season. And since Thanksgiving is first up, start your budgeting activity by accounting for all the holiday food and drink you'll buy in addition to your regular weekly groceries late in November. Be sure to think through the entire Thanksgiving weekend, including Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, and Giving Tuesday. It's amazing how quickly marketers find days to separate you from your money.

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Parties are pricey

Once you're past Thanksgiving, move your thinking to everything between Giving Tuesday and New Year's Day. Don't forget the bottles of wine you'll take to the host and hostess of various gatherings, and don't forget the extra nights of carryout when the holidays steal your will to prepare another meal. It's not unusual for a household to part with an extra $500-$1,000 on food in a normal year, and with meat prices sky-high, look to add another 10% to the budget this year.

Even getting to the physical place to spend time with your loved ones costs money. From tanks of gas, flights, rental cars, hotel rooms, and every other aspect of not spending the holidays on Zoom, physically gathering with people adds up quickly. Don't forget airport meals; they have a sneaky way of significantly increasing your food spending.

Make a gift budget

The most oddly cathartic aspect of holiday budgeting involves creating your detailed gift list. Make a list of every single person you plan on buying something for, and then list how much you plan on spending on each person. You may have mentally done this in the past, but the exercise takes on more power when it becomes part of your overall holiday spending plan.

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Your goal isn't to spend the entire $35 you budgeted for Aunt Joanie. Instead, your goal is to find an item under that price target. This may seem obvious, but too many people "even out spending" to make sure they're being fair to people. And as much sense as you might think it makes to spend the exact same amount on people, it's actually pretty wasteful and otherwise inconsequential.

And finally, there's charity. I realize by listing charity last, I'm opening this entire strategy up to criticism, but the charitable spirit seems to increase exponentially as the days of the year tick away. Is it the feeling of community? Sometimes. Is it the perception of wise tax planning? Sometimes. But no matter the motivation, it can quickly add up on top of food, drink, travel, and gifts.

The goal is to enjoy the holiday season without growing to regret it in retrospect. The best way to accomplish this is with a plan and a budget.

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Peter Dunn is an author, speaker and radio host and he has a free podcast: "Million Dollar Plan." Have a question for Pete the Planner? Email him at AskPete@petetheplanner.com. The views and opinions expressed in this column are the author's and do not necessarily reflect those of USA TODAY.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Holiday shopping: How to keep your spending under control this year