Financial expert Patricia Seaman shares strategies to control overspending, avoid the holiday shopping hangover, and start the New Year off on the right foot
 From gifts and decorations, to parties and travel, pressure to spend this time of year can be extreme. It’s anticipated the average shopper will spend more than $800 this holiday season—an increase from last year. According to the National Endowment for Financial Education 6 in 10 don’t set a budget to manage holiday expenses, and it’s during the last two weeks of December where overspending is a common pitfall.
So how can you take action now to avoid the holiday shopping hangover that comes later with those dreaded January credit card bills? On Tuesday, December 15, Patricia Seaman, senior director with SmartAboutMoney.org, will give your audience proven tips to get through the remainder of the holidays while staying financially on track for next year.
Patricia will share strategies for creating a realistic budget, gift giving alternatives without a hefty price tag, and discuss why you should keep your credit cards at home. Additionally she’ll talk about how to control impulse buys, the best places to make spending concessions, and how to boost savings and build realistic financial goals before the calendar flips to 2016.
Talent/Guest: Patricia (Pat) Seaman, senior director with SmartAboutMoney.org
Seaman is spokesperson for the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE), a nonprofit dedicated to helping all Americans acquire the information and gain the skills necessary to take control of their personal finances. She is a life-long student of personal finance and is conversant in a wide variety of financial education topics and research. Her recent media interviews include Parents, Essence, Women’s Day, TheSteeet.com, Bankrate.com, and many local radio and television programs. Prior to joining SmartAboutMoney.org, Seaman was executive director of communications for the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business. She also has worked in education programs for the Radio-Television News Directors Foundation (RTNDF) and the Radio-Television News Directors Association (RTNDA).
This interview is produced for the nonprofits SmartAboutMoney.org and National Endowment for Financial Education.
