Think ahead to avoid racking up Christmas debt: expert
Posted December 12, 2011 2:33 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – What’s wrong with us as consumers that so many of us don’t hear the repeated warnings about racking up credit and debt around this time of year?
A credit counsellor says most are not thinking ahead.
The warning has come again this year from Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney, just two weeks before Christmas Eve: Don’t overspend on the plastic.
Scott Hannah is with the Credit Counselling Society.
He says you should set goals for yourself, and don’t spend more than you can pay off in three months.
“No one wants to receive a gift bought on credit,” he says. “Nobody wants to receive a gift that perhaps someone bought on credit and is going to pay 28 per cent interest on in the coming years. Keep that in mind while shopping. It’s not the gift, it’s the thought that counts.”
He says consumers need to get smart because there are only two options.
They can either plan ahead for Christmas spending or react to it with jaws on the floor when the bill comes in January.
“The reality is Christmas has come for the last 2,000 and almost 11 years. Hopefully it will for another 2,011 years and we can either react to it or plan for it,” he points out. “Planning for it means that we determine a budget for it ahead of time, put funds aside each month in savings so come around October we have all those funds on hand already to manage all the seasonal expenses.”
He says that will probably save you some sanity when the bill arrives next month but it boils down to one thing: discipline.
If you end up needing help, he says seek out a professional before your debt problem gets worse.
