Christmas is coming and you need debt help!
With Christmas quickly approaching, many people who are in need of debt help are considering how they are going to make it through the holiday season without going further into debt. Often people will use debt consolidation as an option to get their debt under control, but if you have a problem with over spending, this form of debt relief may not solve the problem of a poor budget which is most likely the reason why you have debt in the first place. Sometimes just making a solid plan is all a person needs to get their spending under control. Here are a few tips on how you can keep your spending in line this Christmas and not let debt consume your holiday season.
Spend Only What You Have
This sounds easy, but in reality it can be quite tough to actually stick to spending only the money you have. Make a rule that you will only buy gifts with cash and not use your credit card at all this Christmas. If you haven’t been saving up for Christmas this year, you may have a more difficult time with this, but trust me it is worth it! In January when the credit card bills come in you will be so relieved that you didn’t overspend. I know this may mean that your gifts won’t be as extravagant this year and you may have to opt out of certain activities and festive traditions, but if you are serious about not going into further debt you need to start somewhere and now is always the best time to start your path on the road to a debt free life.
Make a Plan
Before buying a single gift or decoration or before making your holiday plans make a Christmas budget. Maybe you only have$50 or $100 or maybe you have $1000 or more. Regardless of how much you can put towards your Christmas budget, plan it out beforehand. There are a lot of items that you may need to buy during the Christmas season, but there are ways to cut back on costs and save some money to make it easier on your budget. Do a search on the internet for inexpensive or homemade gifts and make your own this year. If you throw a Christmas party every year, make this year’s party potluck style to save on your cost. Find free entertainment such as a local Santa Clause parade, a Christmas craft show or driving around looking at Christmas lights to celebrate the season with low or no cost. The point is to still celebrate Christmas, just find creative ways to bring the costs down and stay within your budget.
If you have more debt than you can handle and cutting back your costs and creating a budget isn’t enough, then you may need a different approach to help with your debt. We at 4 Pillars Medicine Hat have a holistic approach for people who are struggling with money problems where we can deal with the debt, rebuild credit and teach key financial literacy concepts that ensure we maintain a 97% success rate for anyone going through our programs. If you think you may need more help with your debt, give us a call at 403-332-7361.
We offer a free one hour consultation where we go over your situation and present you with your options to become debt free and stay that way.
