You remember the poem by Mary Howitt that starts with a spider saying to a fly: “Will you walk into my parlor? ‘Tis the prettiest little parlor that ever you did spy . . . And I have many curious things to show you when you are there.”

Well, are you like that fly? Are you being lured into spending more than you should for the holidays?

Now, some of you are saying to yourself, as the fly said to the spider, “Oh, no, no.”

“Oh, no, no I don’t go into debt for Christmas,” you say. “I save up for it. I use cash.”

But at what price are you celebrating Christmas? What’s your financial life like the rest of the year?

This year, the National Retail Federation reports, the average consumer plans to spend close to $800 for the holidays. These same shoppers also said they would spend another $100 on themselves.

“With gas prices coming down and consumer sentiment on the rise, shoppers want to celebrate the holidays in style,” said Tracy Mullin, president and CEO of the federation, in releasing the organization’s annual Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey.

Mullin added that retailers would be sure to give consumers a reason to spend their extra disposable income in the stores by “enticing” them with incentives and special promotions.

Or, like the spider to the fly.

Before you go shopping this year – if you haven’t already – do something for me. Clean your house.

iStock Photo

Clean, then shop

Clean every room. Start with your child’s bedroom and then move to the playroom, family room or wherever you store their playthings. Dump out the toy bins and boxes. Pull out all the books, every toy, game, electronic game system or systems and the software and accessories. Take out everything. Then just look at it all.

Next, go to your own room. Clean your bedroom closet. Then go down the hall and clean out the closet you use in the spare bedroom. Go through the cabinets and drawers in your kitchen.

Check this list …

Clean the garage if you have one. Go visit the storage space you’re renting, because many of you have such a space, according to the Self Storage Assn. One in 11 U.S. households currently rents a self-storage unit, an increase from the one in 17 households in 1995.

After you clean your house, giving away to charity anything you or your children haven’t used in a year, answer the following questions:

¢ Do you have credit card debt? (The average household carries about $9,200 in such debt.)

¢ Do you have a car loan or, worse, a car lease that really is too much for your budget?

¢ Are you living paycheck to paycheck? (Sixty-five percent of Americans are dependent on their next paycheck to meet current living expenses, according to the American Payroll Assn.)

¢ Would you be hard-pressed to pay some bills if your next paycheck was delayed for just a week?

¢ Do you have a mortgage that you sometimes struggle to pay?

¢ Do you have a student loan, especially one that you’re struggling to pay or that is in default?

¢ Do you have a child in college who has to take out student loans to pay for his or her education?

¢ Do you have a grandchild, niece or nephew that is taking out student loans to pay for his or her college education?

If you answered yes to any one of those questions, I challenge you to examine what you plan to spend this holiday. Perhaps some of that money could be directed elsewhere?

… and these, too

What about these questions:

¢ Do you have enough money saved up to pay all your household expenses for least three months?

¢ Do you regularly give to a charitable organization?

¢ If you have young children, are you saving something every month for their college educations?

¢ Are you saving for your retirement? If you are saving, are you saving enough?

If you answered no to any of those questions, think about what you spend every year.

Actually, I want you to think about how much you have spent for the holidays over the years. What bill could you have paid off?

All I’m asking is that you look at your holiday spending in the context of your entire financial picture. Can you really afford to celebrate the holidays in style?

Don’t be swayed by the Christmas commercials and sale promotions or you’ll be like the fly lured by the cunning spider, who, alas, “hearing his wily, flattering words, came slowly flitting by.”

Remember what happened to the fly.