Well, Halloween might be over now, the holidays are approaching.
So it means it might be time to give your
gift giving a budget a bit of a belt tightening.
Our consumer reporter Janice Lieberman has more on how to get,
not get carried away and up with debt. Come January,
it may seem a little early to start thinking about holiday hangover debt.
But now is the time to really budget. So you don't have that stress later,
the tree isn't even unpacked but the holidays seem to be
in full gear as retailers push to get you to spend.
So now is the time to figure out your budget, create a list,
figure out what you can afford.
Uh and start now think about what traditions you typically have.
Uh you might wanna change what you've done tradition
and what plans you have.
Grant Gallagher of Affinity Credit Union says maybe change it up
to shave cause do a secret Santa agree to have an outing
for a day or a family party instead of costly gifts using
credit without a real plan may get you into trouble later.
Credit card rates are so high right now that you could really see an extra, you know,
20% on top of what you spent during the holidays.
And that can add some significant stress if he didn't
factor in a way to pay for all of that.
And don't be enticed by store credit cards which offer a one time discount.
Those interest rates can be as high as 26%.
You're much better off with a conventional card.
This would be a really good time to rummage through
your drawers and look for a holiday gift cards.
You never used,
you can use them to buy other people gifts.
I'm Janice Lieberman and that's the real deal.