Managing your credit cards can be a difficult task at any time of the year. However, when the holidays descend upon you, the task of managing your credit cards may seem overwhelming. With so many gifts to buy for so many family members and friends, it seems that any budget you made for holiday shopping quickly goes out the window. And when people do not have enough cash to pay for gifts, they generally turn to their trusty credit cards. Obviously, this can lead to some serious financial issues if you do not have the money to repay the credit card debt. As such, while credit card management is important year round, it is especially important around the holiday season.
The best way to manage your credit cards during the holiday season is to avoid using or over-using your credit cards. Ideally, you should refrain from using your credit cards during the holiday season. You should make a budget and stick to it. If you start to run low on cash, you need to decide whether to “downgrade” a gift or skip a gift altogether. By doing this, you are able to avoid racking up credit card debt.
If you must absolutely use your credit card, make sure you do so in extreme moderation. The last thing you need come January is a large credit card bill. As such, if you are going to use your credit card for holiday shopping, make sure you do so in only the most dire of emergency situations. Again, the goal here is to avoid unnecessary and excessive credit card debt during the holiday season. Therefore, the less you use your credit card, the more likely you are to avoid a holiday financial disaster.
In addition to spending less money, you must maintain your current credit card accounts. As many will agree, the holiday season can be very hectic. Due to the abnormal amount of chaos and/or stress that may accompany the holiday season, you may forget about paying your bills. If you forget, you could face steep penalty interest rates and possible credit score damage. Therefore, make sure that you maintain your current credit card accounts or else many financial penalties await you.
Remember, stick to your holiday budget and avoid using your credit cards to purchase gifts. If you must use your credit card, avoid overusing it or else your next credit card bill might be shocking. Finally, make sure to maintain your current credit card accounts during the busy holiday season. The last thing you need is to pay penalty interest rate or take damage to your credit score.