4 Tips to Avoid Holiday Credit Card Debt Debt Consolidation

4 Tips to Avoid Holiday Credit Card Debt

November 26th, 2009 Admin Leave a comment Go to comments

For someone struggling with credit card debt, Black Friday can be a scary prospect. Everywhere you look retailers and other businesses are urging you to shop ’til you drop.

People who are looking for credit debt relief should definitely avoid using plastic if they venture anywhere near a store the day after Thanksgiving and throughout the holiday season. Here are four tips to avoid the debt trap.

Stay home. Really. Find some games to play with the kids, do chores, or rent movies (for free at the library of course). Just do whatever you can to avoid going anywhere near a retail establishment. Yes, there are bargains to be found on Black Friday, but it’s not like there won’t be other discounts throughout the holiday shopping season. Use layaway plans. Your may have done this when you were a kid. Though they disappeared for awhile, many retailers have resurrected layaway plans that allow you to choose the items you want and pay for them over several weeks. Use cash instead of a credit card to pay for the goods to avoid taking on debt. Use a debt calculator. Do this before heading out to shop to see where you stand. Crunching the numbers to get a clear picture of how much you currently owe and how long it may take to pay it off may be just the thing to keep you out of the mall. Make an appointment with a debt counseling firm. A qualified debt counselor can help you work on some of the underlying issues that may push you to spend. Credit counseling also involves working on a budget that fits your current income so you won’t rely on credit cards.

Be smart this holiday season. Don’t feel obligated to make a lot of purchases you really can’t afford.

Relief Debt Systems