Dec 29th, 2008
Christmas Credit hangover?
Here is an interesting question: how many of you used your credit cards at Christmas? And how much debt did you incur?
In years past I used to rack up huge debts at Christmas which I would then proceed to pay off for the next 4 or 5 months. If you avoided that this year, congrats, give yourself a pat on the back. If not, try a few things to get yourself back on track:
1) Transfer that credit card balance to a 0% interest card
If it is going to take you a while to get things paid off, try and pay as little interest as possible.
2) Find little things to cut back on and put that money directly toward the debt.
For example if you always get Starbucks in the morning, make the sacrifice and brew your own coffee for a while and take that to work.
3) Resolve yourself to not do it again next year
Buying presents is fun, but going overboard and paying for it later is not. I hope everyone had a great Christmas!
If you liked this, you might also like Christmas Spending can hurt your Credit Score from Spendonlife.com
- 4 Comments
- Debt
With the holidays now done and over with, I was left with some debt. I’ve heard that Fast payday loan offers great rates, so I must visit them, so they can help me out.
Fast payday loans can be a safety net when one is in a bind and needs some last-minute cash. They are a great option for emergencies that come up after banks are closed.
I have never even thought about racking up debt for the holidays…we have a bugdet and stick to it. We do put everything on CC to earn points but pay it off before it is due.
This year more people will be watching what they spend but what everyone should remember is that putting your Christmas shopping on credit cards will end up costing you a lot more.
For the items you find on sale now may be great but if you use a credit card you will be paying that difference in interest. This is why you should start buying your gifts early on in the year because you can pay in cash for 1 or 2 items at a time.
As you know the credit card companies can also raise your interest rates and you don’t want to get caught with a high balance when that happens. You should read this article I sent to the credit card companies right after they received the bailout. You can find it at http://www.dealingwithyourdebt.com/