Are you gearing up for the holiday shopping season? With Christmas a few weeks away, your answer is probably yes. Before you head out to the stores, you have to know one thing: how are you going to pay for the items you want to buy? If you don’t know the answer to this question you may find yourself in a lot of trouble.

It is important to use your credit card wisely this holiday season. The last thing you want to do is rack up tons of credit card debt that will carry over for many months to come. In other words, if you are not careful you could end up paying for holiday gifts well into next year. Is that something you want to do?

Set a limit – and this does not mean your credit limit. You should know how much you are comfortable putting on your credit card, and then stick to this budget no matter what. Just because you have a $5k credit limit does not mean that your budget has to equal this amount. Only you know how much you are comfortable spending.

Don’t trust yourself to be responsible? In this case, leave your credit card at home. The last thing you want to do is get to the store and go crazy because you lack the willpower to hold back. If you don’t have your credit card you cannot use it.

There is nothing wrong with using your credit card when shopping for the holidays. Just make sure you are being responsible and that you have a budget to follow. 

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