Family Credit

The holiday season has a way of making overspending feel reasonable, until it isn't. ABC 30 Action News in Fresno covered the financial risks facing holiday shoppers in December 2025, featuring insight from Family Credit Management President Michael McAuliffe on the patterns that get consumers into trouble and the simple mindset shifts that can help.

McAuliffe highlighted a few behaviors worth watching. First, many shoppers lose track of what they have actually spent across multiple purchases and payment methods, which makes it easy to exceed a budget without realizing it until the damage is done. Second, he introduced the concept of "shop creep," the gradual, almost invisible way that per-person spending limits climb over the course of a shopping season, multiplied across every person on a gift list.

He also addressed the growing use of Buy Now, Pay Later services, cautioning that deferred payment is still debt and that the bill will arrive regardless of when it feels convenient to think about. And perhaps the most quietly useful piece of advice in the piece: a sale is only a good deal on something you were already planning to buy.

For consumers who feel like spending has already gotten away from them, McAuliffe's message was straightforward. It is not too late to course correct before the new year arrives, and the sooner you stop, the smaller the January recovery has to be.

Read the full article and watch interview at ABC 30 Action News.