Many people have already started the dreaded annual event – Christmas Shopping! No other two words appearing together strike more fear in our bank accounts than those. ‘Tis the season to overspend, then regret it all year. But, take heart! There is help!
Since the government is finally admitting that we are in a recession, something that millions of Americans already new, it is time to be smart with our Christmas spending. Here is some sound advice.
- Make a budget and spend within it. Figure out how much you can spend on Christmas without letting vital bills go past due. Make a list of those on your Christmas list and prioritize those you want to spend more on, i.e. children.
- Leave the credit cards at home. Credit card companies are raising rates for no reason at all. Even if you have a perfect payment history with them, you may find your rates doubling or tripling. This can make differences in payments from tens to hundreds of dollars a month. So, the less you can put on a credit card, the better off you will be.
- Be smart with electronics. Instead of buying new, consider purchasing factory refurbished products. They often have the same warranty as new, but can save you sometimes as much as 50%, but usually around 20-25%. For example, Dell* has an outlet (see links at the bottom of this article) that sells computers that have been ordered and canceled, or returned for some reason. They are checked out before they are shipped. We bought our son a refurbished X-Box* last Christmas and it has not had a problem. We could not have purchased it new, so this was a good compromise.
- Consider home-made gifts. Bake some cookies, make some candy, knit a sweater. Most of us have a talent we can use for someone. Use your computer to create some ‘coupons’ good for yardwork or housework and give to mom and dad or grandma and grandpa. They will love it.
Christmas is about giving, but it does not need to be about expensive gifts. Giving yourself can go a long way.
* I am not endorsing any products in this article. Dell outlet is at www.dell.com/outlet
For more tips on making extra money, see the Online Business Guide.
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