Not Made Of Money

Now that the holidays are over, many people find themselves reeling from the amount of debt they’ve managed to accumulate while making their holiday purchases. Some people started the season with a budget only to succumb to a shopping frenzy at the last minute. Others spent blindly without having any idea how much they’d spent until the bills came in January. No matter how what your spending style was, you may be among the many who now find themselves experiencing holiday debt hangover.

Fortunately, holiday debt doesn’t have to loom over your head forever. By getting motivated to rid yourself of your debt and committing to take action, you can wash your hands of your holiday debt and enjoy the rest of your year.

Add up all of your holiday debt. The first step to getting rid of your holiday debt is to know exactly how much there is. Gather all of your holiday bills into one place and add them together. As scary as the number might be, rest assured that this is as big as it will get. From now on, the number will only get smaller.

Stop creating new debt. Knowing the exact amount of your holiday debt is important, but stopping its growth is even more important. Until you have vanquished all of your holiday debt commit to only spending cash or using your debit card. The key here is to spend less than you make.

Make regular payments on your debt. Take a look at your finances to determine what your monthly payment should be. Once you’ve decided what that amount is, be sure to pay that much each month. Remember that you’re not just trying to make the minimum payment. You want this holiday debt out of your life.

Find extra money to send to your creditors. Make some small sacrifices to enable you to make larger payments on your holiday bills. You don’t have to give up every little luxury in your life; just pick one or two and consistently add that money to your payments. An example might be to give up raiding the vending machine at your office every afternoon. If you regularly spend $1.50 on a soda and snack, you could expect to have an extra $7.50 for your debt payment each week. It doesn’t sound like much, does it? But at the end of the month you’ll have an additional $30 to add to your payment.

Keep saving after you’ve nixed your holiday debt. When you’ve defeated your holiday debt, plan to keep saving your monthly payment amount for the next round of holiday spending. By putting this money away now, you won’t be doomed to repeat the holiday debt cycle again next year.

Getting rid of your holiday debt can seem like an impossible task when you first get started. Take heart and remember that there are many people in the same situation as you. With a little resolve and discipline you can make your holiday debt ancient history in no time.

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