Are you struggling with a financial hangover? Whether you've spend a little or a lot this past festive season, here are ways to deal with the damage.

Have you noticed how everyone seems to have a cure for any hangover? There are a few traditional fixes. There are also unusual remedies - like drinking castor oil.

But how do you cure a financial hangover? You overspent before the holidays even started, spent more during the holidays and now your credit card bills look terrifying in the sobering light of January.

The more positive thing about a hangover is that if everything does not work, you can choose to do nothing for a while and the hangover eventually goes away.

But this is not the case when you have a financial hangover. Doing nothing can only make your situation worse. The longer you do nothing, the larger your debt becomes and its effects can last for months and sometimes years. If you are lucky enough to pay your debt off, your finances may still be able to recover.

So if you spent too much leading up to a holiday or went overboard in shopping, here are some ideas you can use to undo the damage. Return some items back to the shop if you made expensive purchases in December. Keep in mind that most stores have a 30-day return policy.

Just like a hangover, one needs to avoid drinking more alcohol. It's the same thing with your finances. Avoid any more shopping. Try to steer clear of the post-holiday sales in January. Accumulation of additional debt is completely discouraged. Yes, yes, yes I know there are clearance sales everywhere this month but this is not the time to dig an even bigger hole in your debt.

Go find something extra to do to bring in money and hustle a bit for day-to-day cash. Look for unused items around your home and sell them to get cash quickly.

How about a jumble sale of your unworn outfits which you have been meaning to lose weight for in order to wear them but never got around to losing it?

Use this moment to start a strict budgeting process. You may be dealing with issues of losing weight and exercise. So cut your budget of eating out and entertainment. If you eat at home more often, you will save yourself lots of money as well as unwanted calories. You can use that money to pay off your bills.

If things are really bad and you want to fix your finances, you need to focus on budgeting and make it a habit so that such things don't happen again. The good thing about your hangover is that it might lead you to a better and healthier financial life now and enable you to make a permanent, positive mark in your finances.

Put away your credit card and start paying for everything using cash. This way, when you have no cash, it will simply mean you cannot afford it.

You could even try to convince yourself of this: all of this holiday debt you're wallowing in could be the best thing that ever happened to you if you use the experience to make positive changes in your life, like eating less fast food or becoming better at budgeting.

And as your financial hangover gets better and begins to cure, that is a more positive spin on things.

And look at it this way, at least you don't have to drink castor oil!

Thedream@winniekunene.co.za