There is a very short window between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. If you wait until Black Friday to start your shopping, you just may find yourself with a giant credit card bill in January.

You can avoid the consumerism trap by reading one of my favorite books: Debt-Proof Your Holidays by Mary Hunt. Mary Hunt, also known as the Everyday Cheapskate, is the author of many books that can help you live a debt-free life.

Debt-Proof Your Holidays is a quick-read, and it is loaded with lots of good ideas. Hunt instructs you how to find the extra cash for Christmas and how to make those dollars stretch.

Hunt’s book will give you strategies for decorating your home on the cheap, creative (and inexpensive gift-wrapping), feeding your family on small budget, and scores of frugal gift ideas!

The thing that I like about “Debt-Proof Your Holidays (other than all the great ideas!) is that Hunt is very good at teaching her readers to remember the meaning of the season and to determine what values drive us during the holidays.

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