Almost half of banks responding to a survey by the Federal Reserve said they were increasing interest rates.
Suffering not only from the recession, but also from the new restrictions mandated by Congress, banks are passing the buck—or rather, they are grabbing the bucks wherever they can find them by increasing interest rates to make ends meet.
With the holiday season fast approaching, this is bad news for consumers who turn to credit cards to finance their holiday shopping. To stave off compounding interest charges—and the holiday hangover that corresponds with mounting credit card bills, we suggest leaving the credit cards at home when headed to a mall. Instead, follow this plan:
- Make a budget for each person on your shopping list.
- Label envelopes with the names of each person for whom you are buying a present.
- Place the amount of cash appropriated for each person inside the respective envelope—no more and no less.
When purchasing a present, withdraw cash from the appropriate wallet. This method creates a psychological barrier to impulse shopping. If you are tempted to splurge on a gift—let’s say you are robbing from Peter’s envelope to buy a gift for Paul—you will be dissuaded when you realize you will need to withdraw money from another person’s wallet to cover the extra cost of the gift.
If you want a copy of my book, “Preventing the Credit Holiday Hangover,” submit a comment below with your best money saving technique. I’ll email the book out to you immediately!
