Tis the season to rack up the credit card debt but experts warn to watch your spending.
“The average Canadian has something like $1.70 of credit card debt for every $1 they have,” said Steve Wesley, manager of Credit Counselling Services, Community Counselling and Resource Centre in Peterborough.
Wesley says each year, shortly after Christmas, the Centre sees a sharp increase in the number of people seeking help with their credit card debt. Often the result of pressure to give their families that perfect Christmas gift, no matter the cost
“And how are they going to buy the gifts that they want to buy for their kids and their family, but what are they going to do after Christmas when those dreaded bills start arriving?” he asked.
He suggests making a holiday shopping budget and sticking to it. He says to plan ahead and avoid last-minute shopping since “panic-mode” purchases are often the culprits behind blown budgets.
“Only put essentials on the credit card, don’t put anything on there that you don’t absolutely have to have,” he said. “Because you’re going to have to repay that, often at a very high interest rate.”
To help bring down costs, Wesley suggests scaling back purchases, spending time with people instead of a gift, or giving out homemade gifts.
Sherrie La Masurier, a professional organizer and do-it-yourself expert, says homemade gifts don’t have to be elaborate to be sincere.
“Often we think it has to be more, more, more, but really, it doesn’t,” she said. “We lose the whole meaning of the season.”
She says layering baking ingredients or dry soups using ingredients and jars you have on hand makes for a great gift; use fabric, old Christmas cards and a few crafting supplies to create homemade ornaments. She says homemade bath salts using Epsom salts and essential oils is a gift that will last for months.
But she stresses planning ahead and keeping things simple is key.
“Don’t let yourself get overwhelmed, saying ‘I have to do all this stuff, and get on Pinterest, and search for ideas,'” she said. “You’re going to spend hours, and you’re going to be discouraged because there’s so much out there, and you can’t possibly do it all.”
Crafting a gift can also mean as much to the maker as it does to the receiver, she added
“In the busyness of the holiday season, self-care is so important,” said La Masurier. “And if you can do things for other people as well as slowing down the pace of your own life than we’re all richer for that, and you haven’t spent a cent.”