It’s easy to get caught up in spending during the holidays. Gifts, decorations, travel — it all adds up. And when consumers don’t have the cash on hand to cover their perfect celebrations, they often whip out credit cards to finance the extra charges.

That’s fine if you stay within your budget and can pay off your balance fairly quickly. But some people end up paying for the holidays for months to come — sometimes almost until the next holiday season. That’s what we call “holiday credit card hangover.”

Whether you have a first-hand familiarity with holiday credit card hangover or you simply prefer to avoid it this year, here are three tips you should keep in mind.

1. Keep a close eye on your holiday budget.

It sounds obvious, but losing sight of your budget is easy at this time of year. Stores run deep discounts and aggressively market to shoppers. Specialty gift items that you didn’t consider before are released. As a result, impulse buys aren’t uncommon.

If you’re worried about making these impulse buys and blowing your budget, try being equally aggressive — when it comes to tracking your spending. Make a gift list. Stick to it. Record every transaction and keep every receipt. Each day you shop, deduct that amount from your spending limit and rework your budget for any remaining purchases if necessary.

2. Tap into savings when possible.

Instead of immediately pulling out your credit card when you need to spend more than expected, think about other options first. For example, if the interest you’ll pay your credit card company is more than any interest you earn on savings, it’s smarter to tap into those savings. In the future, consider setting up a separate savings plan to cover next year’s holiday expenses in advance so you don’t have to make these choices at the last minute.

3. Have a debt reduction plan in place before the year’s end.

If you know you’re going to use your credit cards for holiday spending, figure out how (and when) you’re going to pay off that debt before you charge anything. Having a budget in mind is great. But having a plan to get out of holiday debt before you get into it might make the process much easier on you. For example, you might plan to take advantage of a balance transfer offer after the holidays to give you a low interest opportunity to pay off your debts.

You don’t have to be a victim of credit card hangover this holiday season. Start the New Year without accumulating any new debt, or be prepared to get out of it as quickly and easily as possible. Most importantly, learn from whatever happens this year to improve your situation during the next holiday season.