So you’re feeling the Christmas spirit and you want to give gifts for the holidays, but at the same time you don’t want to go broke and start your new year paying off your credit cards from all the debt you piled up by being generous!
Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with giving gifts and being generous to others, but at the same time you don’t want to find yourself in a much worse financial position for the coming year. So in order to save your-self the headache and financial burden here are some tips on how to shop wisely and avoid paying off those high interest rate credit cards for Christmas!
- Do not use credit cards to purchase gifts! When you factor in the interest rates and the amount of time it will take you to repay the credit cards, the gift would have cost you a lot more than what you purchased them for. Unless you can pay it off in FULL at the end of the month you should use Cash Only!
- Set a price limit per person. You should know what you can afford by knowing what you can afford. If your limit is $20.00 -$50.00 per person you should be able to factor the amount of gifts per person to match your budget. Suppose you have 10 or more people on your gift list, well you will factor the amount of income minus your monthly bills to determine what you can afford. If you have very little income left over you may want to reduce the amount of gifts you will give or readjust your price per gift per person.
- Shop online for reduced pricing! Retailers usually have cheaper prices online with free shipping depending on your spending amount.
- Purchase your gifts early! By purchasing your gifts early it relieves you of feeling the financial blow all at once. You can find deals prior to Black Friday during the month of October and when stores have big sales throughout the year.
- Start a Christmas club with your local credit union early in the year. This allows you to set money aside specifically for your Christmas funds to use however you wish whether it’s for gifts or a summer vacation. You can have funds taken directly taken out of your paycheck and towards the end of the year you should have an ample amount of funds available.
One thing a person must be good at when it comes to finances is being disciplined! Being disciplined will help you to avoid over spending and avoid using credit cards to purchase gifts. Having credit is great, but having bad credit isn’t. So although you enjoy giving, you should do so wisely by be in control of your finances. Set limits, plan and save early, use cash and let the internet be your friend! Happy Shopping!
For more money saving tips check out the following articles
“8 Money Saving Tips!” http://nyahmag.com/?p=31
“6 Tips to Rebuild Your Credit Score!” http://nyahmag.com/?p=1580
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