If you’re a longtime reader of this column, you probably knew this was coming — my yearly sermon on staying within a budget for the holidays.

A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s been raised to do. In this case, it’s to pass along advice from a woman who was generous but who never spent more than she could afford.

My grandmother, Big Mama, used to say that Christmas is the time of year when people lose their God-given common sense. Christmas is but a day, Big Mama would say, but debt racked up to buy gifts can last years.

This year I want to specifically talk to people who know they don’t have the money to purchase a pile of presents. These are the folks who are carrying credit card balances. These are the households that are struggling financially.

I’m talking about people who are living paycheck to paycheck.

In fact, more than half of employees surveyed in MetLife’s 2003 Employee Benefits Trend Study said they manage their finances by living paycheck to paycheck.

If you don’t have any savings and are just getting by, make this the year that you spend only what you have — in cash.

Stick to budget

Here are some tips that may help keep you within your holiday budget:

• Go to the mall with a mission. That means shopping with a list that includes a price limit for each person you are buying for.
• Try to limit the number of people on your list. Just because someone gave you a gift last year doesn’t mean you need to add him or her to your list forever.
• Be more creative with your gifts. For example, instead of buying gifts for everyone in your pod at work, bake a cake and serve that up as a present.
• Do some reconnaissance before shopping. Go through the sales circulars in the newspapers to find the best bargains.
• Be sure to continually tally up what you have spent, advises the National Foundation for Credit Counseling. Once you hit your budgeted amount, stop shopping. Go home.
• If you’re rolling over credit card debt month to month, don’t pull out the plastic. Don’t even take your credit cards when you go shopping.

Rules for credit

If you do decide to use credit, follow these guidelines recommended by Myvesta, a nonprofit consumer education group:

• If you must charge, take just two cards with you. For purchases you plan to pay off the next month, use the credit card that has a zero balance. If you expect you need a few months to pay off a purchase, then use a credit card with a low interest rate.
• Be careful about accepting the ubiquitous “buy now and pay later” offers. The catch is that interest is accruing during that time when you don’t have to make payments. If you fail to pay off the purchase by the time the grace period ends, you’re stuck with paying all that accrued interest.
• Don’t apply for department store cards just to get that 10 percent discount. Such cards often carry a high interest rate.