The Cure For The Holiday Bill Hangover

Now that the holiday season is over, the bills are likely starting to arrive. Were you able to stick to your budget during the holiday season? If you follow us on Twitter or Facebook, you may have seen several tips on how to budget for the holiday season. If you don’t follow us on your social media channels, we welcome you to start now.

If the total amount of your holiday bill is lower than you thought, then well done! You can congratulate yourself for being disciplined and not giving into temptation to spend more than necessary.

If the amount you now find yourself owing is higher than you thought, there is no need to panic - yet. The first thing you will need to do, is total just how much you spent. From there, you need to set your plan on how the debt is going to be paid and over how long. If you plan and budget effectively, it should only really take a few months to pay down debt accrued during the holiday season. If it is going to take longer, say about a year, then you need to take a real hard look at your budget and decide whether this is perhaps a sign of bigger problems.

If you paid with credit card, the interest charges can be as high as 29%. That means spending $1,000 on credit and taking a year to pay it off could increase the cost of your spend by $165, which would certainly erase any ‘discount’ shopping you did. The real danger comes if you find yourself needing to use other debt to pay the credit card debt. This could be a sign of your expenses exceeding your income and your reliance on debt to fund your day-to-day expenses.

If this problem is not fixed now, the problem will only be worse by this time next year. Or worse, you may even find there is no money at all to put gifts under the tree.

In some cases, you can buckle down and may a solid effort to get back on track. But for many, trying to create, understand and follow a strict budget is a daunting task. This is where a Licensed Insolvency Trustee can help. We can help you evaluate your unique financial situation and point you in the direction that best suits your needs. Sometimes a Consumer Proposal can be the most appropriate option for moving forward as it allows you to get your spending back under control and pay back what you can really afford without having to go bankrupt.

Getting back on track financially is achievable. It’s just a matter of which route is best for your moving forward as you work towards a stronger future.