12 psychological tricks to save more and spend less over the holidays

Between decorations, holiday feasts, Secret Santa exchanges at the office, and gifts for your family and friends, it's easy to blow through your paycheck during the holiday season

It doesn't help that most supermarkets and department stores are carefully engineered to get you to spend more.

To help keep more cash in your wallet this holiday season, we rounded up 12 simple strategies to help you trick yourself into spending less and saving more:

SEE ALSO: 19 tricks stores use to make you spend more money

Master the '10-second' rule.

"Whenever you're in a store and you pick up an item, hold it for ten seconds," writes founder of The Simple Dollar Trent Hamm, in his book, "365 Ways to Live Cheap." 

"During those ten seconds, ask yourself if you really need it and also if that money wouldn't be better used somewhere else. You'll almost always find yourself putting that unnecessary item back on the shelf and walking away, quite proud that you didn't waste your money on something so unnecessary."

Put this strategy to test when you're shopping for stocking stuffers — it's easy to get carried away with small, relatively inexpensive presents, but a bunch of little purchases can add up over the course of the gift-giving season. 

Practice the 'stranger test.'

Another quick and easy in-store trick: When deciding whether or not to make a purchase, imagine a stranger offering your would-be purchase in one hand and the cash it would take to buy it in the other. If you'd rather accept the cash, you might as well keep that money in your pocket.

Procrastinate on non-essential purchases.

There are times when procrastinating does have value. When it comes to discretionary spending, A. Noonan Moose from Frugal Fringe recommends putting off your purchase to give yourself time to find better prices and make better decisions. We highlighted a few of our favorite examples here.

This strategy translates well to buying gifts online: If you're deciding between a few choices, put all of them in your cart, and leave them for a few days without checking out (as long as you'll still have time for delivery before they're needed). In that time, an item might go out of stock and make your choice for you, you might be offered a retailer coupon by email, or the price might drop.