Following the budget shouldn’t take a holiday

new york (ap) | As the holiday shopping season begins, many consumers need to figure out how to avoid taking on too much debt.

A bit of planning will go a long way toward keeping costs in check.

Big bucks are involved. Spending for Christmas, Chanukah and Kwanzaa is expected to total $457 billion this year, a 5 percent increase from last year, according to the National Retail Federation.

The average consumer plans to spend more than $790, the trade group based in Washington, D.C. said.

Robert Pagliarini, a certified financial planner with Pacifica Wealth Advisors in Mission Viejo, Calif., said too many people go into the holiday season assuming they're going to eat too much and spend too much.

First, he said, answer two questions: Whom do I really need to buy for? How much can I afford to spend on this person?

Then you need to get out envelopes and write the name of each person on an envelope and put in the envelope precisely the amount of money you intend to spend on that person.

"When you go to the mall, you leave your credit cards at home and you bring only your driver's license and your stack of envelopes," Pagliarini said. "If there's $20 in Jane's envelope, then you're spending $20 on Jane , not $25, not $30, not $40."