If you're not careful, the holidays can be a time of heavy spending that can end up being detrimental to your financial health in the new year.

Connie Unruh at First National Bank in Clinton told Regional Radio on the WHOW Morning Show Thursday there are several ways to reign in our spending throughout the holiday season.

The Christmas season can be a time when a lot of people rack up the credit card debt and Unruh says spending money to achieve the perfect Christmas isn't the way to do it.

Additionally, if you're looking for affordable Christmas decorations, once the holidays are over, the post-Christmas sales at retail stores offer discounts on things you can bring out next year.

If you've started your Christmas shopping by using that credit card but want to reign in what you're spending on it, Unruh encourages tracking your spending and giving yourself limits on how much you spend on certain things.