| ...Before Your Credit Cards Get Cancelled! Every | | | | of looking at how to finance another debt |
| year, we respond the same way, like Scrooge, | | | | consolidation, let's consider the possibility of debt |
| giving away the store to avoid the Ghost of | | | | reduction...long-term...elimination. Add up the total of |
| Christmas Future. Unfortunately, if we use credit | | | | your credit card payments. If you're average, it's |
| cards to buy Christmas decorations, refreshments | | | | about $ 625 per month. One fifth of that ($ 125) |
| and gifts, most us are haunted by the Ghost of | | | | is the value of things you bought, with the |
| Christmas Past...the past 20 Christmases, if we | | | | remaining $ 500 (interest) being the price you paid |
| make the minimum payment. Since we're making | | | | for not using cash (assuming the minimum |
| payments this year on the holidays of years, | | | | payment). |
| even decades past, it makes sense to look at | | | | Let's turn that around and use it in our favor, for |
| ways we can avoid using credit cards for at least | | | | a change. What if we took every Christmas |
| this one holiday every year. | | | | credit card purchase ( you can do this the rest of |
| Debt-Elimination vs Consolidation: Especially with | | | | the year, too. I just don't want to shock you.) |
| the recent low mortgage rates, many use their | | | | and multiplied the price by 5...the new price |
| home equity to consolidate and pay off their | | | | representing what we'll pay if we use the credit |
| credit cards, often with lower monthly payments. | | | | card. That gives a whole new meaning to the |
| Of course, this means last Christmas won't be | | | | term "Christmas Sale," doesn't it? Think about the |
| paid off until 2035 in most cases. The sad fact is, | | | | financial power you'd have were it not for credit |
| after consolidating to lower their payments, most | | | | card payments. Most people dream of getting a $ |
| people go right back to charge those cards up to | | | | 500 monthly raise in pay, yet they can give that |
| the maximum they can afford...or beyond. Instead | | | | to themselves by simply not using credit cards. |