I start my year with a simple strategy that ensures I never overspend on the holidays

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• Every year, my partner and I sell the clothes and books we need to buy a few affordable gifts.
• We save $50 a month in a fund that covers most of our holiday expenses.
• The remainder of our holiday spending comes from cashing in our credit card rewards.

I have found that planning and effort make up the best strategies for saving money. Those two ingredients prove to be highly beneficial during one of the most expensive seasons of the year — the holiday season.

My partner and I approach our holiday spending with a plan that starts at the beginning of the year — with some additional effort in October and November. We avoid tapping into our emergency fund or savings account to pay for gifts, parties, and unexpected expenses in December.

We sell things we no longer need to buy each other gifts

Every October, we clean out our closets, sorting clothes we no longer fit into or that we haven't worn in several months or more. We take the best of these clothes to a shop in our neighborhood that gives credit for gently used items they think they can resell. With the credit we earn, we buy a couple of T-shirts, pants, shirts, skirts, or hoodies and tuck them away until Christmas.

After cleaning up the closets, we turn our attention to our bookshelves. We go through all of the books we have accumulated over the year (both new and used), and we take them to a shop that gives credit. We each buy a few books with the credit and tuck them away until the Christmas tree goes up.

Trading in our old clothes and books saves us money, is gentle on the environment, and ensures we declutter our house before the holidays, making preparing for guests or parties easier — a trifecta of benefits! (And that doesn't even include the mental health benefits of cleaning up closets and shelves in our home).

We cash in our credit card rewards

When December rolls around, we cash in our credit card rewards for cash back, which usually amounts to almost $500. Throughout the year, we pay as many bills as possible with our card to build our points as high as possible.

We have paid our car insurance and property insurance bills with our credit cards for years because those bills add a lot of points to our reserve. We use the same card as our bills for expenses like groceries, gas, and dining out. Some purchases are worth two to three times the points.

With the money from our credit card points, we buy food and drinks to prepare a brunch for a group of our closest friends. By hosting a brunch, we can avoid buying gifts for friends who may not want them. We usually budget about $300 for the brunch.

We save an extra $50 a month for holiday expenses

Each month, we tuck away $50 — an amount we find doesn't cut into our other monthly obligations. With the money left over from the credit card points added to the amount we saved over the year, we have about $800 for discretionary spending over the holidays.

That money covers holiday happy hours, dinners, office parties, and unexpected gifts. There is always enough money left over each year for my partner and me to buy each other a few small gifts for our stockings.

We also save at least $25 for a white elephant gift exchange — one of our favorite holiday traditions. Of course, unless the gift is edible or drinkable, it usually sits on a shelf until spring cleaning forces us to declutter the parts of the house untouched by our holiday efforts.