The Psychology Behind Holiday Spending

December has a way of making money feel heavier than usual. Between the pressure to buy, give, host, and keep everything running, spending can quietly shift from intentional to emotional.

On this episode of The Wallet podcast, Emilie Bellet speaks with psychotherapist Holli Rubin about the psychology behind holiday spending. Together, they explore what is actually happening in the brain during December, why spending can offer short-term relief, and how stress, shame, family expectations, and old money stories shape our behaviour far more than logic alone.

This conversation is not about doing Christmas “properly” or cutting back for the sake of it. It is about understanding your responses, recognising when spending becomes a nervous system reaction, and approaching the festive season with more awareness, clearer boundaries, and less pressure.