If you have just finished paying your Christmas bills, and you have not created a plan yet for a debt-free Christmas 2009, here is a simple suggestion. Get a gift card for your favourite department store and add a routine amount to it every payday. Your holiday shopping this year can be easy and debt-free.

That is just one simple strategy for one of your irregular expenses. Remember that there are plenty of other irregular annual expenses, and those are often the expenses that create and perpetuate credit dependency. If you need some assistance creating a spending plan that includes home maintenance, school fees, car maintenance, birthdays, or the many possible irregular annual expenses in your financial picture, our Money Mentors coaches can offer good strategies.

And if you have NOT finished paying your Christmas bills, and you need some ideas about how to pay them faster, set up an appointment with one of our Money Mentors coaches.