Avoiding Additional Debt During the Holidays
Here come the holidays And with them come an extreme amount of financial stress. How are you going to afford all of those gifts on your loved ones’ wish lists? For many, credit is a tried and true stand-by. Just apply for a new credit card, right? Wrong. You are already in debt, and if you’ve used the credit card method in the past to purchase your Christmas gifts, it’s highly likely that you are still paying on those Christmas gifts. Christmas is one day out of the year. It is really not necessary to spend hundreds of days paying for it. There are ways to spread the holiday cheer without putting yourself further into debt. Here are some tips for avoiding additional deby during the holidays.
Layaway. For those pricier purchases, set up a layaway plan months in advance and put a little out of each paycheck toward the purchase. By spreading out your expenditure, your bank account won’t experience payment shock . . . and your credit card won’t ever have to know about it.
Savings. This may sound like simple common sense (and it is), but many people seem to suffer from holiday shopping amnesia for the entirety of the year, until it is time to go shopping. Starting in January (yes, January), put just a small amount of money away each month into a holiday shopping fund. Even fifty dollars a month can really add up come December, and ease a lot of the mental strain (and credit card strain) when the holiday season arrives.
Thoughtful gifts. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to give gifts that will be appreciated and remembered. Try framing an old family photograph, making homemade ornaments, writing a loving memoir about family, or creating gift baskets full of baked goods and giving these as special holiday gifts. These are the gifts that your loved ones will talk about for years to come, so don’t feel that you have to run out to the store and buy the latest trend when a thoughtful gift will do much better.
Shopping lists. Write a detailed shopping list – including who you are shopping for, how much you will spend on each person, and where you can find gifts on sale (this part will take some research) – and stick to your list. This will help you avoid money-wasting impulse buys, and enables you to plan exactly how much money you need to leave the house with, so you can leave those credit cards at home.
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