Are you going to use cash advance loans to begin your holiday shopping? Let’s hope not. It would be awful to end the year in financial distress. Using an online cash advance to make all the purchases is not the culprit to the disaster, but when this fast money option is used to supplement overspending, it will be difficult to pay it all back in a few short weeks.
I don’t know about you, but I have great intentions of spending within my limit and fail miserably. I always try to have a good plan and a smart mind to set it up with plenty of time to spare. How many of these holiday spending restraints do you attempt and fail or do you just make it a free for all?
- Make a shopping list. Write down all the necessary items and hopes for each person you will be shopping for. I always try to even out the amounts spent on each child and try to get a little something for other important people. I find that if I write it down, I, at least, am reminded I had good intentions of not overspending.
- I try to get a good idea of what other people are buying so I can adjust my list from there. Gift assignments are sent out to grandparents, aunts and uncles. Minimizing duplicate gifts is an effective measure to prevent family present confusion.
Using a cash advance is only adding to the holiday costs.
- Shop for holiday credit card special promotional rates. Did you know that many electronic stores will have special zero interest rates to entice people to purchase higher end items? Well, they do. You have not only local stores, but many online sites to shop for the best bargains. When you do open a new card in order to use the special rates, read the terms and policies so you don’t get caught up spending more in the long run. Often enough, high end ticket items will give you 6-12 months to pay off before interest starts. It is most often accumulated interest on the balance throughout the term, so do your best to pay it off before the high interest can more than double the initial cost of the item.
- As enticing as it is to finish shopping early, don’t do it! This approach to the holidays is one I fail at every year. I get everything purchased just around Thanksgiving so I can relax and enjoy the season. But then a new sale pops up or a last minute holiday item is released and I am back in the stores. I bought for one so I have to even it out and buy one more for all. It is an endless brutal cycle which does not fall pretty into my bank account.
- Stocking stuffers are small inexpensive items. They can be fun little toys, candy or dental hygiene essentials. There is no shopping protocol for the fireplace ornaments. Here’s the deal with me, when I start buying little items here and there, I truly have no visual of the actual stocking dimensions. By the time Christmas comes, I need at least three stockings per child in order to fit the goods. This is a prime example as an area I can cut back on costs.
Having saved some each month throughout the year, the one think I do know is that using an online cash advance would only add to the total expense. Credit cards can be useful to keep from having to carry large amounts of cash, but unless they have a special interest rate, the plan is to always pay them off in full. The least amount of debt I have to carry over into the New Year the better. I will once again prepare myself to forge through holiday debt.
