In less than three weeks, it will again be time to usher in a new year. With the holiday and celebration prep in overdrive, it’s easy to let your financial planning fall to the wayside.

When you can hardly keep up with your event plans, family demands, and holiday shopping, how can you possibly also manage your bottom line and keep sight of your financial goals?

If we let the retailers decide the answer to this, each and every one of us would have busted budgets and dwindling savings. We’d be awash with beautiful packages, delectable dinners, and Martha Stewart-worthy shindigs, but we’d also be stressed out about January’s credit card bills.

We’d be spending blindly, as visions of smiling family members opening multiple gift boxes danced in our heads. Some of us may even resort to my favorite game from years ago, Balance Transfer Roulette, in order to pay for the annual influx of holiday spending.

But there is hope! It may not be the easiest choice, but keeping sight of your financial goals and being mindful of your budget is possible during any time of the year. Some of the ways you can maintain your financial plan during the holidays include:

 Review your budget

Your budget is not a set-it-and-forget-it entity; especially during the holidays. Open that Mint.com page, click on the month’s Excel worksheet, and look over the budget you drew up at the beginning of the month. You didn’t make a budget for this month or your holiday spending?! Grab a napkin, a receipt; whatever you have lying in front of you right now that you can write on–chicken scratch works quite well as long as you know where your money is going.

Re-assess your budget

Have you over-spent on gifts for family but have wiggle room in another category? Move around the numbers to make them work for you–just remember that what goes out MUST match what’s coming in to ensure a balanced, healthy bottom line. Bonus points if you’ve already saved a dedicated amount for the holidays–use this money before dipping into monthly cash flow!

Post reminders

So you’ve reviewed your budget and find that you have $50 left to spend on food for your holiday party? Grab a post-it and write “$50″ on it and put it somewhere you’ll see it. Or set a Google alert for later in the week when you know you’ll be shopping. Having reminders of what you have to work with will help to avoid the head-in-the-sand approach.  Speaking of….

Remember, you are not an ostrich!

Technically, ostriches do not stick their head in the sand; when they sense danger and cannot run away, they simply flop down and remain still. Now is not the time to stick your head in the sand; you need to be aware of what you’re spending and know when it’s time for you to “flop’ out of the buy, buy, buy game.

Make it a Cash-only month

It’s well documented that we spend more when swiping plastic. Force yourself to count out the greenbacks–you’ll curb your spending in no time when you’re holding an empty wallet.

Consider gift-giving alternatives

Heartfelt, sentimental gifts, even if homemade or written, are far more memorable and appreciated by their recipients. Sure, a love letter may not have the same initial appeal as an iPad for a gadget-obsessed techie, but I promise that letter will be saved far longer than the next Apple upgrade.

Use coupons and gift cards

Stretch your dollar even further by combining coupons & gift cards with store sales. Capitalize on those last-minute Black Friday-esque sales and complete your shopping for a fraction of the cost.

Cut-back wherever possible

Do you host a big dinner only to find that your guests typically fill up on the hors d’oeuvres? Host an appetizer & drink event–nobody will notice the difference when well-fed and surrounded by friends and family. Your wallet (and waistline!) will thank you. Also, consider giving a family gift rather than individual gifts. Or, institute a spending limit for the entire family and see where creativity more than makes up for big spending.

If you should still find yourself struggling to balance your budget or find that money is tight and you’ve exhausted your options, consider the following:  If you have a relationship with someone that is close enough to inspire gift-giving, there should be no reason why you can’t have a candid conversation about your financial situation.

There are literally tons of meaningful ways to celebrate the holiday without spending money you don’t have. In the end, remember what the season should really be about: spending time with loved ones and creating memories to last a life-time. Nowhere does it say that you must spend in order to do this….

How do you maintain your financial plan during the holidays?