Tis the Season for Returns, and Credit Card Remorse
That’s right everyone, Christmas is officially over today. All that hustle and bustle, rushing around to find Aunt Wilma the perfect flower pot and Uncle Bill the perfect golf clubs is finally over, and you’re now left with, well, returns and credit card remorse.
What’s credit card remorse? Well, it’s that thing we call regret in the form of credit card bills for three months at least that are higher than we’re normally used to seeing them, thanks to the pressures of buying for everyone for the holiday season.
Here’s what you can do though, to take away some of the pain of paying off those credit card debts. If you have something you got from someone, that you don’t really love or need, see if you can get a cash return for it, and apply this to your credit card bills rather than exchanging it for something else, which will not help you get out of your short term Christmas debt.
Another helpful hint is to skimp a little for a few months. Skip that morning Espresso for 4 bucks and instead make coffee at home (much cheaper), and make your lunches at home to bring with you to work instead of picking up fast food lunches for $5 or more.
Maybe scale back on going out to eat, and the more expensive “splurges” that you’re used to treating yourself to regularly. It’s really hard to discipline ourselves again after the holidays, since this is when all around spending tends to be highest, and many of us tend to forget that we will have to face the music - in the form of bills - for those credit cards we racked up during the bustling season.
