For many of us, Christmas is traditionally a happy time of year – a time spent with family and friends, eating, relaxing and being merry. However, for some people, the time after Christmas is often spent worrying about debt.
It doesn’t have to be this way though – and here’s a look at one way of reducing your debt worries this Christmas.
Try not to take on debt
This may sound obvious, but it’s true. If you avoid debt at all costs in the first place, you won’t have to deal with the stress of repaying it – but how can you avoid debt?
Save up. Even if you only save a small percentage of your income, it can make a huge difference to your overall finances.
1. Imagine you have a Christmas spending budget of £200. Saving £100 from November’s pay cheque will cover half your budget – so you only need to find £100 in December itself.
2. Having said that – looking ahead to Christmas 2010, you could simply save £18 a month between January and November to more or less cover your £200 budget.
So, as you can see, it’s worth making a plan to help you avoid falling into debt this Christmas. Just take a look at how much you are planning to spend, and see how much of that any savings you have will cover – then plan how you intend to pay for the outstanding purchases.
What if you do end up in debt?
If you do fall into debt this Christmas, you should get some debt advice as soon as possible. A professional debt adviser should be able to assess your situation and may point you in the direction of a debt solution. If, for example, you realise that you’re left carrying lots of little debts after Christmas, you may find that a debt consolidation loan could help you simplify your finances, making it easier to repay what you owe.
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