Debt Management Skills for the Holiday Season
A Credit Article Contributed by Brandie King
Debt Management Skills for the Holiday Season
By using some or all of the following debt management skills you can lessen the impact of post-holiday debt.
Debt Management Skill: Presents on Sale
Quite a few stores will have before and after Christmas sales. As Christmas gets closer, as well as after Christmas, stores will start reducing prices in an effort to unload some of their inventory. You can also start getting ready for next year by buying items such as decorations, cards, and wrapping paper after Christmas.
Debt Management Skill: from the Heart
You most likely know what those closest to you (your friends and family) like and will actually use. Armed with this knowledge you can give them gifts that are truly from the heart by making the gifts yourself. Many times gifts like these are more cherished.
Debt Management Skill: the "Other" Stores
You can visit yard sales, garage sales, and thrift shops to find great presents. Frequently you can find very nice, and often times brand new, items to buy which you will pay much less for here than at a traditional type of store.
Debt Management Skill: Spread It Out
Buy gifts all throughout the year instead of all at once. Spreading your buying out like this also spreads out the cost over 12 months instead of you getting hit by hundreds of dollars in debt all at once. If you also watch out for good deals on the presents you want to buy you will save even more.
Debt Management Skill: Plan Ahead and Rein in Post-Holiday Debt
You can open what is called a "Christmas Club" savings account (or something with a similar name) at your bank. They offer this account for the purpose of saving up for Christmas holiday spending. Put some money in the account every month and at the end of the year you will have a nest egg of sorts to use for buying presents. As an added bonus you will earn interest on the money in the savings account.
Debt Management Skill: Smart Credit Card Usage
If you want to use credit cards to pay for your holiday needs, there are a couple of things you can employ to help lessen the impact of the debt you will incur. One such skill is to determine your holiday spending limit (how much you can afford to spend on ALL present combined) and then stick to and don't go over it. Make a list of everybody you are going to buy presents for and what you want to buy them, keeping the total cost of all presents at or below your holiday spending limit.
You can also take advantage of the discounts that some department stores offer when you use their credit cards to make purchases. Be warned that these cards have high interest rates though. To keep from having to pay the high interest rates, transfer the balances to lower interest rate cards before any interest is charged on them. Yet another thing you can do is to pay the balances in full when the credit card bills arrive.
At the very least pay more than the minimum amount due to reduce the amount of interest you will pay. If you determined your holiday spending limit and stuck to it then paying the balances in full should not be a problem.
