A Guide to Overcoming Christmas Bills
Did you get sucked in by the lure of Black Friday Deals? Did your Christmas shopping list grow too long? Were you naughty with your credit cards while trying to be nice to everyone on your list? Here's how to recover and right your financial ship!
An exciting December can make for a boring January, but you have to get your personal finances in order. The first thing to do after an expensive Christmas is take stock of where you are financially. Take a look at your credit card balances and your bank account balances. Take a deep breath. You don't have to assume another identity and move to South America. There are things you can do.
Make The Return Quest. If you've recently bought frivolous consumer products for yourself and you don't actually need them and you haven't actually used them, take them back. It may not be fun going from store to store making returns, but it can help your finances. We call that trip "return quest." The credits for returning un-needed items should help lower your credit card balances and offset some of the charges you made. If you have food, clothing, shelter, and transportation, you have what you need. You can do without some of the frivolous things you bought.
Do The Balance Transfer Shuffle. Do you have any incoming credit card offers for 0% interest on balance transfers? One of those cards might be a place to park some of that Christmas debt until you can pay it off. Alternatively, you may want to approach your bank or credit union about a consolidation loan before you are late with any payments.
Cut Your Cable Expenses. Football season is over. If you aren't a rabid basketball fan, this might be a good time to call the cable company and cut some of those sports packages and sports channels. You could examine your cable bill and cut back to a less expensive package. If you save $20 to $40 per month on your television expenses, you could easily apply that money to beat down a growing credit card balance.
Eat at Home. After Christmas, the weather is cold and the nights are dark. Winter is not a bad time to stay inside, hunker down, and eat home-cooked food. Cheap meals at home can really help you fit into a tight budget. You can apply the money you save towards your post-Christmas credit card bills. When you do eat out, use every trick in the book to save money at restaurants. It won't be fun, but worrying about bills isn't fun either.
Stop Shopping. Shopping for Christmas was fun. But, you don't have to keep shopping after the holidays. If you have your basic needs met, just chill out and let those credit cards cool. You can beat down those Christmas balances in a couple of months. In the meantime, just don't buy anything that you don't absolutely need.
You'll get your finances back in shape in just a couple of months. In the meantime, don't panic and just make sensible adjustments to lower your spending. Christmas bills will fade away before spring.
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