Debt

Articles on Money Q&A about debt and credit cards and how they affect and interact with your family’s personal finances.

How to Spend Wisely with Credit Cards this Christmas

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More shoppers will use credit cards for holiday gifts this year.Americans have more pep in their step this Christmas. According to USAA’s fourth annual Holiday Spending Survey, consumers are more positive about their outlook this holiday gift giving season than last year and feel that they can spend wisely.

The financial giant’s findings were actually in line with recent reports from the National Retail Federation. The survey found that holiday sales are expected to grow above the current 10-year growth rate for holiday sales.

But, with this renewed optimism, there is a danger of overspending with credit cards when you could spend wisely. More people than ever before are planning on paying for some if not all of their Christmas gifts with their credit cards.

And, like always, most are not planning on paying off those credit card balances right away. So, how can you protect yourself from spending too much on your credit cards this holiday? Here are a few tips to help you spend wisely even while using credit cards during this holiday season.

USAA Survey Finds An Increase In Holiday Gift Giving

USAA’s Annual Holiday Spending Survey found that consumers plan to purchase more holiday gifts this year as opposed to what they bought last year. According to the survey, shoppers sentiment with respect to holiday shopping has become more positive this past year from surveys that were conducted in 2011.

For example, 40% of shoppers in 2010 reported that they had plans to scale back their holiday gift giving. Only 31% said they were scaling back their spending in 2011, and just 24% of Christmas shoppers said they were looking at reducing their spending in 2012.

Fewer Shoppers Are Making A Spending Plan

This year only 55% of all shoppers had a budget and a spending plan on how much and who they were giving gifts for this year. This was a worst percentage than the previous two years where 57% in 2011 and 61% in 2010 said they had a holiday gift giving budget. Despite the continued high unemployment and less than stellar financial markets, fewer holiday shoppers are planning to slow down on their holiday gift giving.

For three years in a row, holiday shoppers actually plan on increasing the number and amount of gifts that they are giving their friends, family, and loved ones. To make matters worse, shoppers are not making a spending plan or a budget when they set out to buy their gifts. This is the one place where I’ve strove to be better in my own financial life.

I have decided this year to write down every person that my wife and I are going to buy Christmas gifts for and to also list out the gift that we are buying in advance. Now that I have a budget and a plan, I can stick to what I plan on spending. This year is also one of the first years in a long time where I know exactly how much I am planning on spending.

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What Are The Pros and Cons of the Best Store Credit Cards?

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Pros and Cons of the Best Store Credit CardsYou probably hear it all the time when you’re in the middle of checking out at a major department store: “Would you like to sign up for a store card to get a discount on your first purchase today?” If you’re one of the 56.7% of American credit users who has a store-specific card in your wallet, then something in that simple sales pitch must have worked. But, which are the best store credit cards and what are the pros and cons of the best store credit cards?

Pros and Cons of the Best Store Credit Cards

If you’ve ever been tempted to sign up for a store’s credit card to score that great, last-minute discount on your first purchase and access a variety of other benefits promised by the department store, consider these pros and cons before signing on the dotted line:

Pros – Best Store Credit Cards

Although you can’t use a store credit card outside of that particular store (which includes their website and partners outlined in the credit card agreement), there are some benefits worth mentioning. This is especially true if you’re a consistent customer with that company.

First Purchase Discount

According to CreditCards.com’s 2015 retail card survey, 42 of the top 100 retailers in the U.S. offer some kind of card to their customers. The survey broke this down into types of cards offered: “two debit cards, 38 store-only cards and 24 general purpose (known as co-branded) cards”.numbers skewed because some stores offer multiple types of cards). Although 44 of these cards come with discount or rewards programs, most of these apply to discounts on the first purchase.

The numbers are a little skewed because some stores offer multiple types of cards. Although 44 of these cards come with discount or rewards programs, most of these apply to discounts on the first purchase.

This first purchase discount can range from 15-40% or more, in rare instances. Stores offer this massive incentive as a way of getting more people to sign up for credit cards.

And, if you’re already a regular customer who’s been looking for a new card to add to your wallet, then this could be a great chance to save a considerable amount of money. Hopefully, your first purchase is big enough to justify it. Otherwise, consider waiting to sign up until your initial discount will be bigger.

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7 Tips for Living with Bad Credit

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Do you have bad credit? So do millions of other Americans – I’ve been there too. Fortunately living with a poor score is not as nightmarish as it sounds. Here are 7 warnings, tips, and methods to help you come through the other side … 1. Be Prepared to Pay Deposits Lending, providing services, renting … Read more

Book Review – The Recovering Spender by Lauren Greutman

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The Recovering Spender by Lauren GreutmanLauren Greutman is everywoman. And her tale of coming back from a life of debt is inspiring. In her new book, The Recovering Spender, Lauren Greutman lays out her mistakes (like many of us), how she overcame them, and then how you can too.

The Recovering Spender by Lauren Greutman is half memoir and half “how to” book on taking back control over your finances and control over your spending.

I’ve often been critical of my fellow personal finance bloggers. Most of them fall into two camps. They typically are: #1 – fall along as I chronicle my life getting out of the massive credit card and student loan debt that I’ve created. #2 – financial experts with the degrees and background to back up the actionable advice and tips they provide.

I personally like, and fall into, the second category. I often do think that readers would care about my personal life. But, often, I’m in the minority of the personal finance blogging scene.

Lauren’s story is a classic personal finance blogger’s tale of too much credit card debt and overspending. Bloggers love to share their stories of coming back, and Lauren’s book is no different. If you love reading personal finance blogs, you’ll love Lauren’s new book.

A lot of readers love to follow along with the underdog and witness the comeback story first hand. And, most personal finance blogs provide that coverage for readers.

That’s what’s made Lauren’s blog, IAmThatLady.com (later rebranded into LaurenGreutman.com) so popular. If you haven’t checked out her awesome blog that started it all, you definitely should.

I have to admit…I was sucked into her story about working her way up the chain at a Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) company and using her credit cards to get ahead. Like most readers, I’m fascinated by the story. And, the book didn’t disappoint…it has a great opening story of Lauren’s fall and then ultimate comeback.

The Recovering Spender by Lauren Greutman

Lauren Greutman has been where many of you find yourself today. She’s been in debt and struggling. And, she’s clawed her way back. Her book, The Recovering Spender, shares her story, and it also provides readers with simple and successful strategies to overcome your debt.

The Recovering Spender Offers Hope

The Recovering Spender by Lauren Greutman is a book that offers hope. It’s a book for the American spender, those who don’t necessarily have Roth IRAs and stock portfolios. But, it’s for those guys too (believe it or not).

The Recovering Spender is a book for people who hate talking about money, who hate to budget. It talks about getting out of debt in plain English, which is something that should resonate with the readers of Money Q&A too.

It’s a book for people who have struggled with debt, continue to struggle, and want to get out of debt.

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