By Sean A. Kelly
My friend Phoebe just loves going shopping for her family and friends for Christmas. However, Phoebe can also be quite extravagant in her choice of presents which at one point got her into a lot of trouble with her credit card company. A few Christmases ago, Phoebe maxed out all of her credit cards getting presents for her loved ones. She figured that Christmas was an occasion so she might as well spend as much as she could on presents and worry about paying her credit card companies later; much later. That was until she started receiving calls from her creditors demanding that she make full payments immediately. So Phoebe decided to engage the help of a debt management company like Freedom Debt Relief. Somehow with their help she managed to pay off her debts within a few years.
Now Phoebe practices extra caution whenever she goes shopping for the holidays. A short stint with a debt management company changed her shopping habits for good. Previously she had at least five credit cards but now she is down to one. Now Phoebe makes her Christmas budget early where she makes a list of the people she is going to buy presents for. Prior to her credit counseling days Phoebe would even buy extra gifts for strangers but now she has a list and she sticks with it. She writes the amount that she is willing to spend on each name on her list and readjusts the budget to fit her overall budget. Phoebe also makes sure that she is able to afford the presents in cash. The only one credit card she has now is only used to buy gas for her car.
Phoebe’s new holiday mantra also includes omitting cards from her budgets. She used to send Christmas cards to almost everybody she knows. She would spend hundreds of dollars on Christmas cards alone. Now, she still sends them – via email. She used to think sending e-cards would make her seem cheap. But now she knows that it does not. In fact, she can actually save a few hundred dollars a year. Phoebe also tries to avoid spending too much time at the mall or a department store. She started exploring for deals and discounts from online stores. Surprisingly she said she can find better deals online for Christmas presents. Some online stores also give better rewards especially if you use certain credit cards. Of course, she also said that the online discounts always tempt her to buy more but she already has a budget and she has to stick with it.
When Phoebe enrolled into the debt management program she had to go to credit counseling sessions. During one of these counseling sessions, she found out that her spending habit may actually be a psychological problem. Basically, she always felt like she had to give better presents than last year or than what she was receiving. She just had to outdo everybody else and even herself. Now she knows that giving gifts does not have to be a competition. If she thinks someone in her family deserves a gift that is beyond her means she would ask if anyone would be willing to split the cost of the gift with her. After all, sharing is also part of the Christmas spirit.
Phoebe learned to save money for the future instead of spending it all on a whim. She used to buy things on impulse but now she will actually plan her shopping according to her budget. Getting gifts for her loves ones is still very important to her. But instead of spending more than she actually makes, she now buys things according to her budget. And although she has a credit card, she only uses it to maintain good credit score.
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