Christmas Card Debt EAP EAP Hotline Documents |
How many times have you made a credit card purchase with the intent of paying off the bill in one month or two? Then
nine months later you find yourself still paying the minimums on your card plus the four or five dollars a month interest
you continue to accumulate. Unfortunately, this scenario is too common for many of us, and in reality the best case
scenario for millions.
Those Black Friday purchases you made to save money are now not really a savings at all as the money you saved at
the store has now gone out of your budget as payments to the credit card company. Using credit cards to stretch your
dollar is an idea that usually services to shrink your dollar in the long run as interest payments slowly eat at your
savings. Unless you truly do have the funds set aside to pay for your purchases at the end of the month, using your
credit cards to make purchases of any kind is probably a bad idea.
This year, if you want to keep your Christmas spending from creating a yearlong “holiday hangover” here as some tips
to try:
*Set Limits- Budget how much you are going to spend on each person or
gift then stick to it.
*Get the best price-While this seems like a given, sometimes when we
use credit cards we are not as price conscious. Look two or
three places especially before purchasing expensive items.
*Never sign up for credit cards to get discounts-Signing up for credit cards to
receive a discount is never a good idea. They are counting on
your interest payments to help offset the discount they are giving.
*Always make a list-Whether you shopping for gifts, or shopping for groceries
it is smart to make a list in advance and stick to it.
Just following these four basic steps can help you to avoid the spending trap so many of us fall into at Christmas. If
you do overspend during the holidays, the faster you can get your budget back on track the better.
For Further Information:
nine months later you find yourself still paying the minimums on your card plus the four or five dollars a month interest
you continue to accumulate. Unfortunately, this scenario is too common for many of us, and in reality the best case
scenario for millions.
Those Black Friday purchases you made to save money are now not really a savings at all as the money you saved at
the store has now gone out of your budget as payments to the credit card company. Using credit cards to stretch your
dollar is an idea that usually services to shrink your dollar in the long run as interest payments slowly eat at your
savings. Unless you truly do have the funds set aside to pay for your purchases at the end of the month, using your
credit cards to make purchases of any kind is probably a bad idea.
This year, if you want to keep your Christmas spending from creating a yearlong “holiday hangover” here as some tips
to try:
*Set Limits- Budget how much you are going to spend on each person or
gift then stick to it.
*Get the best price-While this seems like a given, sometimes when we
use credit cards we are not as price conscious. Look two or
three places especially before purchasing expensive items.
*Never sign up for credit cards to get discounts-Signing up for credit cards to
receive a discount is never a good idea. They are counting on
your interest payments to help offset the discount they are giving.
*Always make a list-Whether you shopping for gifts, or shopping for groceries
it is smart to make a list in advance and stick to it.
Just following these four basic steps can help you to avoid the spending trap so many of us fall into at Christmas. If
you do overspend during the holidays, the faster you can get your budget back on track the better.
For Further Information:
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