Know Your Shopping Style and Avoid Holiday Debt
Holiday shoppers will benefit from creating a holiday gift budget. Speak with family members and decide the total amount of money you have to spend on gifts. Remember, if you decide to use credit, only borrow what you can repay within sixty to ninety days.
You might be able to avoid problems and debt by identifying your shopping style in the table below.
Shopping Style Solution Table
Impulse shoppers
"When I find a gift, I buy it." Spend a few minutes thinking about gifts before you buy them and ask yourself: Will the person enjoy, use and appreciate the gift? Could I find this gift or a comparable gift for less money somewhere else? Shop with cash and when you have spent all the money, go home. Keep track of the presents you have already purchased.
Inspirational shoppers
"I go out to the stores and look around to decide what to buy."
Leave your money and credit cards at home. Go shopping and when inspiration hits, write down the gift, where you found it and the price. When you have shopped for everyone on your list, add up the total. Compare your shopping total with your gift budget. If they do not match, you will need to make adjustments. Try to find the item on sale, look for similar items that are less expensive or give a combination gift to any couples on your list. When you go back to purchase your gifts, buy only those gifts on your list.
Non shoppers
"I go to one store and buy them as quickly as possible." Internet shop. The Net will allow you to shop quickly from several different merchants, which could save you money. Give gift certificates and everyone wins. There is no shopping involved for you, the recipient can choose their own gift and you will not overspend.
Last minute shoppers
"The end of December creeps up on me and I find myself in the stores on Christmas Eve." Don't panic. Time is short, but you want to avoid buying any gift, particularly one that would be more money than you would normally spend, just so you have a gift to give. Map out a plan before you leave home. List each person for whom you will buy a gift, what gift you would like to buy for that person and which stores you will need to go to. Enlist help. Get one of your "I finished my shopping before Halloween" friends to come shopping with you and send them off to pick up some of the gifts on your list.
Related Tags: credit card debt, credit problems, gift buying, holiday debt, new years debt
April Lewis-Parks is the consumer affairs advocate for Consolidated Credit Counseling Services of Canada and she is dedicated to generating publicity about personal finance topics to educate the public.
For Canadian Debt Management resources visit http://www.ConsolidatedCredit.ca
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