Tick tock, tick tock…as the pressure mounts for another holiday spending spree, more and more people will cave to emotional buying at the last minute. Why not take an hour or so and budget your holiday bucks this year before you brave the malls? There is still time left to take control of the situation before it controls you by pre-loading a prepaid debit card.

Comparing prepaid debit cards is easy, especially if you use that wondrous new invention, the internet. OK, so it’s not that new anymore. Nevertheless, if you invest some time up front, you might not only save yourself some aggravation down the road, but save money as well. How, you ask? Well, besides shopping on the internet, there are websites out there that can help you compare prepaid cards. Just type “prepaid debit cards” in the search engine of your favorite browser. Of course, we think our prepaid card website is the best, but then again, we’re biased. Some sites only give you general card information. Always go beyond that and shop around to find each card’s “cardholder agreement” and read the terms. Usually, there is a table found in the agreement displaying possible fees. READ IT CAREFULLY!

For your benefit, here are some popular prepaid cards we like in no particular order. Check out our recommendations!

• The mPower(TM) Visa Prepaid Card
• The Green Dot Prepaid MasterCard
• The Walmart MoneyCard
• The AccountNow Prepaid Visa
• The Mango MasterCard

By loading funds early on your new prepaid card this year, you might just stick to that budget and not regret overspending on the holidays.