With Christmas fast approaching, many people will be worrying about how to raise the money for their purchases. This includes food and drink, clothing, paying for entertainment, and buying gifts amongst other things. For some, the only option will be to turn to credit such as credit cards, catalogues, and store cards.
All this debt can lead to huge problems when the New Year comes around. Too many people will have built up a huge amount of debt that needs to be repaid. Without cash, there are other solutions such as a debt consolidation loan. The best option is to clear Christmas debt as quickly as possible.
Tips to help clear the debt
If the debt has built up too much once January comes around, there are several options to pay it off as quickly as possible. Here are three good options:
- Restructure your budget: Sit down with a pen and paper, and go through income and outgoings thoroughly, to see where to make cutbacks. It might mean making sacrifices but this is the price you pay to get the debt under control quickly. Any cutbacks will mean more money to put towards the debt.
- Sell some gifts: While it doesn’t sound like a very festive thing to do, most of us get a few gifts for Christmas that we don’t really want or need. If this is the case, why not sell them online. Use the money to pay down the debt, reducing the amount owing.
- Consider a second job: Consider getting a second job, even for a short period of time. This will provide a valuable second income to throw at the Christmas debt to get it cleared as quickly as possible. This will be a huge burden off your shoulders and once the debt is repaid, consider continuing to work and start saving money.
There are many other solutions that can help repay your debt. Some are faster than others. For example, if the debt is on a high interest credit card, a balance transfer card with a lengthy interest free period can be a lifesaver. Transfer the debt onto the new card and put every penny towards the principal debt rather than towards interest. This can make paying off the balance far quicker and means that you could clear it all without paying any interest whatsoever on your borrowing. Generally, to benefit from a balance transfer card, you will generally need very good credit.