How to deal with holiday debt
Posted December 28, 2016 11:10 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – With the magic of Christmas behind us, now comes the nightmare — in the form of the bills showing you what it all cost. For many of us holiday debt can be overwhelming.
You aren’t the first one to overextend yourself, and you definitely won’t be the last. Scott Hannah from the Credit Counselling Society suggests a few tips for paying off your debt to get back in the black.
1. Be realistic about what you can pay and how fast you can accomplish it
“Far too often we see people give themselves too lofty of a goal as opposed to something that’s more realistic,’ explains Hannah. “Having that realistic goal first is really important.” He adds if you have an $800 credit card bill as an example, try paying $100 a month to start.
2. Trim a portion of your regular monthly expenses
“Looking at every single expenditure that you have that comes in with the goal of cutting it back by 10 per cent will help individuals find the money that they need to address their debt situation.”
3. Don’t wait until the New Year to paying it off
“Recognize that it takes time to get into debt, and it also takes time to get out of debt.”
Hannah suggests one way to avoid going into debt in the future is to track their spending for 30 to 60 days to help get a sense of where their money is going.
