You now know how to use your existing debt to keep you on budget this holiday season. There is another powerful tool to help you stay on budget and avoid impulse buys. Unfortunately it is also one of the most seductive pitfalls, especially during the holidays. It is so important not to use credit cards during your holiday shopping when the temptation to overspend is even greater than usual.
[bctt tweet=”These tips will help you keep credit cards from blowing your holiday budget.”]
Why Not Use a Credit Card?
You don’t want to be loaded down with more debt after the holidays. Credit cards will definitely lead to remorse later. Holiday deals and sales are specifically designed to get you to spend more. Retailers spend hundreds of thousands of dollars a year just to study how to use sales, product placement, and the store atmosphere to psychologically trick your mind into opening up that wallet. Don’t let them win with you.
How to Avoid Credit Cards
- The first thing you should do is remove your credit cards from your wallet.
- Put them somewhere inconvenient in your home to prevent using them online as well.
- Use cast only when shopping for holiday gifts.
- Put a rule into place that you cannot purchase a gift when not specifically on a gift-buying shopping trip.
- When you do go on gift-buying shopping trips, make sure you’ve already taken cash out of your account at an earlier date/time and leave your debit card at home as well.
Making sure you have no other method of payment besides your allotted cash means you don’t have to rely on will power to keep you from overspending. It is a built-in safe guard against impulse purchases.
Store Charge Cards
The same goes for store cards as for regular credit cards. Unfortunately, a lot of department stores have the ability to issue you a temporary card for that day plus you don’t even need the physical card to shop the store online. To avoid going over budget at these stores may require some more extreme measures.
- Do not get a temporary card issued. If you feel the temptation (or worse, find yourself in line at customer service to get one) I want you to put down everything and leave the store immediately.
- Do not shop these stores online. This goes especially for Black Friday when the deals could have you filling up your cart as fast as your mouse can click.
These may seem crazy or strict but if you are really serious about saving on your holiday gifts you will do whatever it takes. I know how tempting it is (Macy’s was getting so much money from me at one point that I had to stop shopping there altogether for years) but you will thank yourself in the long run for resisting. Also, don’t forget about your debt slip. If you have your own store kryptonite, try adding the amount you already owe that store onto your slip separate from your total.
See where I’m linking up!
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