The winter holidays can be stressful for individuals that want to buy presents for their loved ones, but also have a large debt that they need to manage. Unfortunately, this pushes many people to take out additional loans only to find themselves that they have to repay an extremely large amount of money afterwards.

While there is no way to simply make the debt go away, there are a few methods that you can use to reduce the cost of your debt during the holidays and make it easier to buy presents and pay for creature comforts.

This having been said, keep in mind that each of the following methods may be used separately, however, implementing two or more of them in your debt-management strategy will ensure that you will be able to afford a wider variety of products and services. Here is what you need to know:

• Refinance Your Most Expensive Loan before the Holidays Start

The best way to keep the cost of your debt under control is to take your most expensive loan and to refinance it. This will allow you to change a few important aspects of the original agreement. You may be offered a lower interest rate and some lenders even allow borrowers to spread their monthly payments across a large number of months. This will reduce the amount of money that you have to repay each month.

• Get a Debt Consolidation Loan

If you have several types of debt that you need to repay, consider getting a debt consolidation loan. This will help you to reduce the overall cost of the debt and also increase your credit rating. Furthermore, keep in mind that once you get a debt consolidation loan, it will be easier to get additional financing.

The downside with this method is that the money may not be enough to cover all of your existing debt. However, it should be enough to repay at least the most expensive loans that you currently have.

• Get a Personal Loan That Can Cover all Your Winter Holiday Expenses

This one is useful if you tend to borrow money to purchase presents for your loved ones. Most retailers give customers the option to pay for expensive products in instalments; however, this may leave you with several monthly payments and interest rates that you need to handle.

However, if you plan your expenses ahead of time and get a personal loan that will cover all of your purchases, you will only have to manage one monthly payment and one interest rate.

Try to get the loan before December as some lenders tend to increase their interest rates as a result of the increased demand for financing.

• Avoid Using Credit Cards or Other Types of High-interest Loans

Credit cards, payday advances, and bank microloans are the most expensive types of debt, especially during the holidays. Avoiding using them will not only prevent your credit rating from going down but also make it easier to manage the debt that you may already have.

• Set Aside Money for the December Monthly Payments in Advance

If December is particularly difficult on your finances, consider preparing your monthly payments ahead of time. This should be extremely easy if you put aside money in the months leading up to the winter holidays. However, this strategy requires discipline. Most individuals who save money for their December monthly payments end up using the money to pay for additional presents or creature comforts.

A good way to keep the money locked away is usually to deposit it into a separate bank account that you will only access once you need to make the repayments.