It’s the time of year when credit cards are potentially going to take a large amount of use. There’s a lot of pressure to provide a big family event with an abundance of food and gifts. The problem is in difficult economic times like these that many of us are facing,a common “solution” is to put the expenses on a credit card and worry about it later.
Below are some tips to help put away the credit cards this holiday season and save yourself from a new year credit card debt hangover.
* Share the expense of food items and drinks with friends and family. If you are hosting festivities this year, ask each guest or family member to bring an item to contribute to and help share the cost of your Christmas lunch or dinner. Consider how many adults and children will be present and work out the proportions, especially when you have a variety of foods to eat it’s not necessary to make massive amounts of each item.
* Remember that the best gifts are not necessarily the most expensive ones, with some thought and a little planning you can give gifts that won’t cost a fortune and will be loved. Recent photos printed and framed are a lovely gift idea. Have you heard of the Secret Santa idea?. The “Secret Santa” concept is one where all members place their names in a hat and randomly and secretly draw the name of one member of the family. The name drawn is the person to buy a gift for. The only person, the only gift and the buyer must stick to the agreed budget.
*Work out how much you can afford to spend without using the credit cards and stay true to it. It is easier to do than you may imagine.By planning for the extra expenses at Christmas and either putting a little aside each week or buying when good value presents itself you can save yourself from putting all the extra cost on the credit cards at the last minute.
Christmas is a time to remember the birth of Christ. We should be using the time to spend with family and friends, appreciating them and all that we have.It’s not necessary to spend a fortune with money borrowed on credit to have a Happy Christmas…. so don’t do it .
