Stand by your purses, it’s That Time of Year. Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas and all its trimmings. I’m happy to sign up to the marathon card writing sessions, stand patiently in till queues so long I should have brought sandwiches and do last-minute trolley dashes around Tesco.

But what I’m determined to avoid is an overdraft hangover to match the real one, come January 1.

According to a Which? survey, half of us borrowed to pay for Christmas last year, mostly through credit cards, where we piled on an extra £30bn.

Unless you’re Scrooge’s sister, you’re probably already feeling the urge to splash out on luxuries.

There’s the gift-buying bonanza, which can spiral completely out of control, the chocolates, the Christmas cake no one wants to eat and the five types of whiskey/whisky (just in case).

One (seriously deluded) year, I managed to spend £50 on table decorations.

The following year I vowed to make all the decorations myself to save cash.

That was when I realised those people who spend hours doing crafts probably don’t have a full-time job and children.

So what’s the alternative?

For starters, make a list of everything you need to buy and decide how much you can afford to spend on each.

That’s the easy bit. The tough part is sticking to it.

Take it with you when you hit the shops and make yourself keep looking at it.

I know from experience, this actually works and in a weird way tracking down gifts for under a certain amount turns into a fun challenge.

It forces you to think harder and be more inventive, rather than just grabbing the first, probably expensive, thing you spot.

When it comes to food and drink, keep the challenge idea in mind and shop around. That doesn’t mean trudging up and down supermarket aisles, because it’s easy to check prices online and find out who’s offering the best deals.

For instance, the Which? expert tasting panel raves about Champagne Veuve Monsigny Brut by Philizot from Aldi and Comte de Brismand Brut Reserve Champagne from Lidl, which are a snip at £12.99 each.

It scores them better than many other supermarket own-label Champers, which would set you back £20-40.

Save a few more quid by swapping Champers for prosecco or cava, especially when there are bargains as tasty as Aldi’s Philippe Michel Cremant du Jura Chardonnay 2011 at £6.99 or Lidl’s Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG 2012 Extra dry at £7.29, again picked out by Which?.

Typically you’ll spend £9.99-£12.99 in rivals Morrison’s, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Waitrose or M&S. That’s a not-to-be-scoffed-at saving of anything between £3-28 per bottle of bubbly.

Finally, remember to check if you have loyalty points you can swap for food, drink or gifts. Most of us collect them, whether it’s Nectar, Tesco or Waterstones but surveys show many of us forget to use them.

It’s another thing worth bothering about, if you want to stay solvent.