Here’s What Happens When You Overspend on Thanksgiving

With Thanksgiving quickly approaching, you’re likely starting to stock up on food and drink essentials and plan how you will gather with friends and family. As you organize your holiday plans, it’s essential to keep your spending in check. If you’re not careful, it can be easy to go overboard and spend beyond your means, which could worsen your personal finance situation.

Don’t feel pressure to plan an elaborate affair

The holiday season offers the perfect opportunity to spend time with loved ones who we haven’t seen in a while. While it can be fun to gather and catch up over a shared meal, the planning and preparation process for a holiday event can be stressful.

If you’re hosting this year’s Thanksgiving dinner, don’t feel pressured to plan an elaborate event. You should always keep your finances in mind as you shop. The purpose of the holiday isn’t to impress others, but to spend time together. Try to keep that in mind when planning.

Here are a few things that can happen if you overspend.

You could go into debt

Many people use credit cards to pay for their everyday purchases. But it’s essential only to charge what you can afford. Otherwise, you could go into credit card debt. When your bill arrives, the best strategy is to pay the entire statement balance in full. If you don’t, you’ll pay credit card interest charges, which can add up fast — according to Forbes, as of this writing, the current average APR on a credit card is 27.81%.

As credit card debt accumulates, it can negatively impact your finances, including causing harm to your credit score. As you make plans to do your shopping for the upcoming holiday, make sure you set a budget and stick to it. That way, you can avoid going into costly debt.

You may have buyer’s remorse

Buyer’s remorse is when you have feelings of regret after making a purchase. Often, this happens after making a big-ticket purchase, like an expensive piece of electronic equipment that you don’t need. But you might also feel this way after spending too much money during the holidays.

The last thing you want to do is feel guilty after shopping for your Thanksgiving meal. You can avoid this by going to the store with a plan. Review sales fliers to find the best deals, and draw up a shopping list so you can stay on track while you load items into your cart.

You might not enjoy the holiday

When you spend more than you can afford, it can cause added stress. When you’re feeling overwhelmed about your finances, it can be hard to live in the moment and enjoy what is going on around you. If you overspend on Thanksgiving, you may not enjoy your holiday gathering as much as usual. Make sure you make spending decisions that allow you to have a good time.

It can throw your budget off course for the rest of the year

If you overspend on Thanksgiving, you may end up in a difficult situation for the rest of the year due to budget issues. If you spent more than you intended in November, you’ll have even less to work with in December. If you need help managing your budget so your current financial situation doesn’t worsen, check out our list of the best budgeting apps.

Set yourself up for success

It’s not too late to plan a memorable and delicious holiday meal that fits your budget. Want to avoid overspending? Determine how much you can afford and make a shopping list to stay on track. By keeping your finances in mind as you shop, you can avoid the above problems.

Alert: highest cash back card we’ve seen now has 0% intro APR until nearly 2025

If you’re using the wrong credit or debit card, it could be costing you serious money. Our experts love this top pick, which features a 0% intro APR for 15 months, an insane cash back rate of up to 5%, and all somehow for no annual fee. 

In fact, this card is so good that our experts even use it personally. Click here to read our full review for free and apply in just 2 minutes. 

Read our free review