Soldering wires to the underside of a plated through hole perfboard

[solderfumes]

I've been doing all of my builds on perfboard and have always placed my wires on the component side of the board.  However, I've started using better quality perfboard that is plated through hole, and it strikes me that I should be taking advantage of this and attaching my wires to the "trace" side of the perfboard like a proper via.  What's the best way to do this?  It seems like soldering to the traces on the same side as the wire is a recipe for burnt wires, so is it best to run a short trace on the component side of the board in those spots and then solder the wire end to that?