“‘Tis the season for a holiday hangover. How do we get our credit cards and personal budget back on track for the new year?”

Remember Hugh Grant’s immortal line in Four Weddings and a Funeral? “Bugger! Bugger! Bugger, bugger, bugger, bugger!”

If you uttered that line, or worse, after seeing your credit card bill or bank account balance in recent weeks, then there’s a little story you need to read about Humpty Dumpty falling off a wall and the world’s best help being useless.

There’s little I can say to help you now. You’re stuffed!

Okay, that’s not true. So, if you have this problem every January, let’s attempt to save your sorry butt for next year.

Work out how much extra – over and above normal monthly spending – this Christmas cost you.

For every $1000 you need, you have to put away $25 a week from February to November. Therefore, $3000 requires you to put away $75 a week.

The best places to “save” this money would be a free redraw attached to your home loan or an online savings account. However, you may still have access and be tempted to spend it.

So, while it might sound daggy – like a rerun of Home Alone on Christmas Eve – plenty of institutions still have Christmas Club saving accounts. You’ll earn next to no interest on your money and if you break down and need it early, you’ll probably pay fees. But this could be your answer.

Bruce Brammall is the author of Debt Man Walking (www.debtman.com.au) and a licensed financial adviser.