The holiday season brings opportunities to celebrate, connect with loved ones, and enjoy meaningful traditions. It can also bring extra costs. Gifts, travel, and gatherings add to the everyday expenses employees already manage, from housing and groceries to utilities and childcare.
While every household approaches the season differently, many are planning around budgets that are already tight. The Federal Reserve’s Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2025, published in May 2026, found that 58% of U.S. adults said changes in the prices they paid compared with the previous year had worsened their financial situation. When everyday essentials like groceries, housing, and utilities leave little room for additional spending, even modest holiday expenses can be difficult to fit into the budget.
Employers can help by making sure employees know what financial wellness benefits are available and how to use them. Budgeting tools, financial education, and practical resources can help employees plan for holiday spending while staying on top of everyday expenses.
Financial Wellness Tools That Support Confident Holiday Planning
Many employees enter the holiday season with the intention of sticking to a budget. PwC’s Holiday Outlook 2026 survey found that eight in ten U.S. consumers planned to adopt a budgeting strategy during the season. Financial wellness resources can help employees put those intentions into practice by supporting three key steps:
- Account for the full cost of the season. Budgeting worksheets and expense trackers can help employees look beyond gifts to include travel, shipping, meals, and other seasonal costs. Mapping out expected expenses alongside payment dates can also show when several purchases will fall within the same pay period.
- Set priorities and realistic spending limits. Financial education can help employees build a plan around what they can afford after covering essential bills and existing commitments. With that amount in mind, they can prioritize the purchases and traditions that matter most and adjust other plans as needed.
- Compare payment options with future expenses in mind. Resources that clearly explain total costs, fees, interest, and payment schedules can help employees understand how a purchase will affect their budget beyond the holidays. Where available, financial coaching can provide more personalized guidance.
For example, an employee might set separate budgets for gifts and travel, then discover that airfare and several gift purchases would come out of the same paycheck. Seeing those expenses together creates an opportunity to adjust the timing or scale of their plans before committing.
These tools can give employees a clearer view of what fits their budget and help them make informed choices, both during the holidays and throughout the year.
How Holiday Planning Can Ease Stress and Support Focus
Financial concerns can follow employees into the workplace. An employee worried about covering bills alongside holiday expenses may find their attention returning to those concerns while answering emails, completing tasks, or participating in meetings.
Bank of America’s 2026 Workplace Benefits Report found that 53% of surveyed employees said personal finances caused them stress. The survey focused on full-time U.S. employees participating in 401(k) plans. While the finding was not specific to holiday spending, it shows that many employees are already facing financial stress before seasonal costs enter the picture.
Planning resources can help employees work through specific questions before they become recurring worries: Which expenses are covered? When are payments due? How much room is left for holiday plans? Recording those answers in one place gives employees something concrete to refer to, potentially reducing the need to repeatedly check balances or recalculate expenses during the day.
For example, an employee unsure whether holiday travel will leave enough for rent may keep revisiting that concern at work. Mapping both costs against upcoming paychecks can help them identify a shortfall early and consider adjustments. Even when the decision is difficult, knowing what needs attention can make the next step clearer.
A budget cannot make up for insufficient income or remove every source of stress. It can, however, help reduce the uncertainty surrounding financial decisions. For employers, making planning tools and guidance accessible is one practical way to support employees’ wellbeing, and it may help them return their attention to the task at hand.
How Employers Can Make Financial Support Timely and Accessible
Financial support is easier to use when employees hear about it before they need to make a decision. November offers an opportunity to highlight available benefits as employees plan for seasonal expenses and review year-end priorities.
Communications should answer three practical questions:
- What does the resource offer?
- When might it help?
- How can employees access it?
Make the next step straightforward. Include direct links, brief instructions, and a contact for questions, so employees do not have to search for details. Consider different work settings and schedules when sharing information. Email may reach office staff, while mobile messages, benefits portals, or breakroom notices may work better for other employees. Brief reminders throughout the year can help keep resources easy to find when needs arise.
The wording matters, too. Messages about seasonal expenses and year-end financial priorities can connect employees with support without assuming which holidays they celebrate or how much they plan to spend.
Keep participation voluntary and explain how personal information is handled, including what, if anything, is shared with the employer. Employees should have a way to ask questions or connect with a provider without discussing personal finances with a manager. Pairing timely reminders with simple, private access can make it easier for employees to seek support when they need it.
How BenefitsMe Supports Employees During the Holiday Season
BenefitsMe brings together a buy now, pay over time solution, financial education, and credit-building opportunities to help employees manage everyday needs while working toward long-term goals.
Employees access products now and spread payments over 3–12 months through interest-free payroll deductions. This gives employees flexibility when managing planned holiday expenses, with a defined schedule they can factor into their budget.
Before placing an order, employees can review the total cost, payment amount, and repayment period. Understanding the effect on take-home pay, including deductions that continue into the new year, helps employees decide whether the payments fit their financial circumstances.
To help employees make those decisions, BenefitsMe’s Financial Education Learning Center offers more than 100 modules and is accessible to anyone with an account. Employees can use these resources to better understand their finances and apply what they learn when weighing seasonal expenses.
For an employee preparing for the holidays, that could mean exploring a budgeting module, identifying what they can comfortably allocate, and then reviewing whether payments over time fit within that amount.
Additionally, through our CreditBuiltMe program, employees with an account can view their credit score and understand what affects it. Employees with an active purchase can also opt in to have their positive payroll-deducted payments reported to the credit bureau.
Together, these resources give employers a practical way to support employees’ immediate needs and long-term financial wellbeing.
Supporting Employees Beyond the Season
The holidays offer a timely opportunity to help employees plan for added expenses and connect with available financial wellness benefits. That support can remain valuable long after the season ends, as employees manage everyday bills, unexpected costs, and future goals.
By making financial resources visible, accessible, and relevant throughout the year, employers can help employees feel more prepared for the decisions ahead. The goal is to make sure employees know where to turn for support whenever their financial needs change.
Sources
Federal Reserve. “Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2025: Income and Expenses.” May 2026. Federal Reserve: Income and Expenses
PwC. “Holiday Outlook 2026.” 2026. PwC: Holiday Outlook 2026
Bank of America. “2026 Workplace Benefits Report Findings.” July 21, 2026. Bank of America: Workplace Benefits Report Findings