It's the season of giving but that doesn't necessarily mean having to break the bank to have a good holiday.

Americans are estimated to spend a whopping $720 billion this season.

Adam Goldfarb, from Goldfarb Financial, said when it comes to gift giving, it really is the thought that counts.

"Your friends probably aren't expecting anything huge and your family, they are going to know if you're not making a lot, they're not going to want you to go out and spend all of that extra money that you might have gotten around the holiday season on them," he said.

Thinking of picking up something for yourself? Ask first: Do I really need this?

"Black Friday and Cyber Monday, these types of holidays are great when you've had your eye on something and you've been paying attention to it and there's a big drop (in price) and it's a good time to get it,” Goldfarb said. “But it's just important to not get carried away.”

The National Retail Federation says the average person will spend just over $1,000 this holiday season. That's up 4.1 percent from last year.

Even though credit cards seem like a good temporary solution to cover the cost of everything, Goldfarb urges shoppers to know the terms and be sure the regular household budget will afford making payments on time.  

"It really is just important to have that knowledge of what your fixed expenses are, what your fixed income is so that you know, if you have a surplus, this is how much you have and that's total,” Goldfarb said. “If you're looking to save up for something, you can look at it month to month, you can look at it over a long period of time, but it's important to actually know how much money you have so that you don't end up running out.”

Splurging on gifts isn't the only thing that can throw off budgets. Daily necessities can rack up the bills, especially as the weather gets colder.

"There are tools as well that you can use just for utilities, you can do a balanced billing,” he suggested. “Instead of having a spike at one point during the year, you can actually balance it out so you know your fixed expense for the rest of the year.”