subject: Start budgeting for after the holidays, today! Tips to keep your holiday spending under control [print this page] Author: Mick Bernard Author: Mick Bernard The economic downturn will not stop people from spreading holiday cheer for there friends and family this year. According to the latest Gallup poll, Americans estimate that they will spend on Christmas gifts somewhere around $600 which has been a consistent benchmark throughout the holiday season. On the nightly news, there was one answer that kept getting repeated, I will worry about it later. That thought stuck in my head for days as I was looking over economic data that showed double digit unemployment growth and the data of new job creation being a little misleading. After reviewing the information I came to the answer that the data is not the driving force. At some point people have to stop being practical and just say, we will figure out away to get through this. At some point that strategy is all you have, especially when so many things are out of a individuals control. When something is so far out of your control it seems like the only thing that one can do is throw their hands in the air. Instead of taking this approach we have to figure out personal strategies that help us get closer to our goals. Because if will listen to the talking heads on TV one minute they will tell you We will see growth in the first quarter of next year and then the next day they say, we do not see growth for the next 18 months. I think the only thing is we can conclude is that at some point American innovation will see us through this crisis. But during this crisis we need to be proactive! I think for most Americans the goal is to acquire the least amount of debt, so when the turn around happens, we can prosper. But as a Credit Professional I fell obligated to give you a few tips for the holidays (I got in this business to see people prosper) :
Avoid the store cards Stay away from store cards even though they start at zero percent rate, if you miss on payment it will shoot up exponentially. Credit card companies will offer a return protection, which means that carrier will guarantee your purchase, usually up to 90 days after you make the purchase. Return protection policies change from company to company. The 3 month protection is the industry standard and is better than the retailers. When shopping online remember to look for the security seals, which gives you comfort that the there is the right measures being taken to protect your data. At some point we will see the end of this crisis. Hopefully soon than later! In the meantime lets do all we can to end our own personal financial crisis and the nation will follow. I hope everybody has a happy holiday! If you would like more information about our Credit Repair Program please feel free to contact us! About the Author:
Mick Bernard is a Credit Consultant from Scottsdale, AZ. His company Credit Strategies is helping consumers clean up their credit nation wide. For more credit tips visit us at http://www.onlinecreditstrategies.com/blog/
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