Avoid Christmas Debt By Planning In Advance

Along comes Christmas and we like to think we are in control and that we are not going to be overspending this year like we did last year! Is that true? Did you rack up any unexpected Christmas debt last year?

Most people start out with the best of intentions but the truth is that for one reason or another time slips away and before we know it, we are rushing around buying presents at the last minute. Buying presents in a rush is one of the easiest ways to start spending a lot more than you intended. That happens because:

• Shops market to sell and we fall for it – impulse shopping accounts for a lot of Christmas debt due to overspending
• Tiredness takes over at the end of a shopping day and you stop watching the dollars because you just want to get home and put your feet up, so in the end you spend more than intended
• If you spend more than intended you probably have to use a credit card, but you know you will pay if off soon don’t you? Although that is what most of us think, the actual fact is that it can be up to six or seven months before you manage to pay if all off
• You don’t go out with a list and buy haphazardly, so not only you risk spending too much, you are spending money on presents that probably won’t even get used
• If you leave your shopping til the last week the ‘crazy season’ really kicks in and with all the plans for celebrations and so forth, you will find any plans you had for organised spending just fall in a heap, so start your shopping early. Buy one present a week and you will hardly notice the cost going out of your pay packet (well, not as much as at Christmas anyway!)

If you find the need to use a credit card to get you through the Christmas season, it is a good idea to start buying as early as September because that will then spread out your repayments from October right through to January or February and that will make the cost of Christmas so much easier to absorb.

An alternative to shopping in a busy, bustling shopping centre is to shop online where you have time to select your products and you don’t have the pressure that you get when shopping in the shopping malls.

If you feel you have to use a credit card for your Christmas debt try and use a card that has the lowest interest rate just in case you have to carry over a balance. Store credit cards are known for their high interest rates, so do be careful and don’t fall for the ‘special offers’ that they try and entice you with.

Related posts:

1. Reducing your Christmas Credit Card debt
2. 24 Tips On How To Manage Your Christmas Credit Card Debt
3. How to avoid credit card debt this Christmas
4. We Are On The Countdown So Plan Your Christmas Spending
5. Budget Your Christmas Money and Enjoy a stress-free holiday!
6. How To Avoid Overspending On Your Credit Card Over The Christmas Holidays
7. Guide To Christmas Spending

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