By: Michael Millington

The last thing you want to think about during the holiday season is how you’re going to deal with the debt that it creates from buying all that crazy holiday spending. Nobody wants to, but it’s a real problem that can damage your credit and ruin your holiday experience. While you may deal with debt all year, it can be especially tough when you have to prepare for the end of the year. Here are some common debt issues you could run into and how you can avoid debt or deal with debt quickly.

 

Three Ways Debt Can Come With The Holidays

 

1. Gift Buying

Buying gifts is a quick way to land yourself in a debt hole after the holidays are over. This is the one time of the year that most people buy major purchases. Since people rarely save their money to buy these expensive gifts, they end up charging them to their credit cards. Once the purchases show up on their credit cards, the annual interest fee kicks in based on the balance they carry over into the new year.

Try to account for the usage of a credit card during this time of year by setting aside some money to handle big purchases during the holidays. Making an extra payment towards your credit card bill will go a long way towards ensuring you don’t end up in massive debt come January. Just because it’s the holiday season doesn’t mean you get a month off from budgeting.

It also doesn’t hurt to keep an accurate record of every purchase you make. Debt can accumulate simply because you’ve forgotten that you’ve bought something. This can be especially detrimental if you use multiple credit cards, as one will get paid off while another collects interest fees. Don’t forget to check off each purchase as you pay for it to avoid unnecessary debt.

 

2. Traveling

The holidays are the perfect time to go and visit your loved ones wherever they may live. However, if you don’t budget in your travel expenses, you’ll be paying for your trip for the next few months. Booking flights or trains during the holidays can have a major effect on your debts if you don’t plan correctly.

Handle your debts to the fullest of your capability before the last four months of the year. The less debt you have going into the holiday season the less debt you’ll have coming out of it. A few months before you plan to travel make sure you book your travel method. Prices for holiday travel are usually inflated when you decide to wait.

One thing people rarely do is let their creditors know they’ll be travelling. Whether it’s locally or internationally, letting your credit card providers know you’ll be away from home will alert them to watch out for suspicious activity. When travelling there is an increased risk of fraudulent activity on your credit cards. Putting your creditors on watch will help you avoid unnecessary debt trouble in the future.

 

3. Decoration

Nobody intentionally hangs debt over the fireplace or strings it up around the house, but it’ll creep inside if you’re not careful. Much like the summertime, winter can be especially brutal on your finances. Heating costs go up and even though you might budget for that, there’s one other thing you haven’t been accounting for: your decorations.

One thing that goes hand-in-hand with the holidays is lights. The more lights you put up the higher your electric bill will be. It might not seem like a big thing to most people but when you have a sizeable amount of lights, you’ll see a noticeable increase in your bills. Failure to pay those bills can put you in a tough spot once the holiday season is over.

The easy way to help your debt situation is to impact it as little as possible. Use less lights and get decorations you don’t have to plug in. Keeping your energy usage as low as possible can make your bill after the holidays more manageable and keep your debt manageable as well.

 

Enjoy Your Holidays and Avoid Debt

It’s easy to get lost in the splendor of the holidays and forget your responsibilities. Keeping your budget in mind will allow you to enjoy the holidays while managing your debt. If you feel like your debt has grown beyond your capability to manage, then don’t hesitate to contact a debt relief specialist today. It won’t cost you anything to find out what you can do to eliminate debt from your life and it won’t intrude on the holiday. Take the first step and get back control of your debt today.