24 Tips On How To Manage Your Christmas Credit Card Debt
Posted October 20th, 2009
and last modified December 2nd, 2009Christmas 2009 is going to be one of the toughest that many people have ever faced as the global crisis has affected so many families. It is going to take some strong will and strict control to manage Christmas credit debt during the festive season.
Unsettling facts from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that over 14 million Australians are paying off over $40 billion in credit card debt. Almost one third of Australians own three or more credit cards.
Basic living costs like food, petrol and utilities are up there in the spending list, along with electronic equipment scoring very high as well.
There are several ways to change your spending pattern for this year and here are some suggestions to ease the pain of Christmas credit debt.
Plan for Christmas
There is only a short time left so start organising your Christmas spending.
- Start tightening the family budget now
- Go without luxuries now and put the money aside for Christmas
- Have a family meeting and decide how to buy for Christmas � maybe one present each instead of a lot of little ones
- Start buying extra bottled and tinned food items and put them away from the kitchen so they don�t get used until Christmas. Buy frozen foods if you have somewhere to keep extra frozen goods
- Lay-by your presents and pay a little off each week � check the store�s lay-by policies
- Plan Christmas meals so that they are cost effective � 2009 might mean cutting back on some luxuries � it is the company that counts!
- Buy your fresh vegetables 3 or 4 days before Christmas so you are not paying double the price
Manage your Christmas card debt
- Your attitude towards your spending on your credit card will make a huge difference to the post Christmas payment problems
- Decide how much you will spend on presents for each person and make a list. If you have to buy an alternative present, make sure it fits within the budget
- Before you hit the shops, check prices online as there can be as much as a 50% variance on RRP at different stores
- Avoid the hype of shopping malls. Sometimes it ends up cheaper buying from smaller local shops because you are not seduced into spending more than you should with all the glamour and glitz of the shopping malls
- Check on refunds � this is one area that the bigger stores do offer good service. Usually you can exchange for any reason as long as you have your receipt
- Pay cash for your purchases wherever possible and keep all your receipts
- Review your cards and decide on one for your Christmas spending and leave the others at home
- If you cannot pay the full balance in January then arrange to use a low interest card for your Christmas card debt
- If you find that you are going to be using your credit card ensure that you put as little as possible on the card.
Post Christmas credit debt
Here are some tips that will help if you when you find that even with your best planning the credit cards have got out of control. There are always those unexpected expenses or the impulsive spend that we all fall for.
- Tighten your budget in January and really bring your spending on everything back to the very basics
- Pay as much as you can off your credit card, even paying a small amount each week will help because then there won�t be so much to pay to meet the monthly repayment minimum
- Address the high interest cards first and pay more than the monthly minimum when you can
- If you have several cards, concentrate on paying one card down (the highest interest rate one) and then close it, or at least get the credit limit reduced right down
- Return any presents that you don�t like or need and put the cash on your credit card
- When reducing credit card debt remember that it is the interest that is the killer � by carrying over credit balances, you are always paying dead money in interest
- Be wary of adding credit debt to your mortgage and only do this as a last resort because it means you are paying interest on that money (admittedly usually at a much lower rate) for 25 years or more
A plan to help with Christmas spending each year
- Open up a savings account (without a card) and get an automatic weekly withdrawal from your everyday account � even $15 a week which you probably won�t miss, will add up to $750 over 50 weeks
- If you can afford it, buy presents throughout the year when items are on sale � presents like linen, kitchenware and so on, are not affected too much by fashion
Start planning your Christmas card debt as soon as you can and spread the costs over a couple of months. By doing that, the costs of Christmas will be so much less difficult to pay off.
Related posts:
- Reducing your Christmas Credit Card debt
- Avoid Christmas Debt By Planning In Advance
- We Are On The Countdown So Plan Your Christmas Spending
- Christmas 2009 Credit Card Tips
- Christmas Money-Saving Tips
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