Image by Republica from Pixabay
Enjoy the holidays, but don’t get carried away with holiday shopping.
It’s easy to overspend, and 48 million Americans are still paying off credit card debt from last holiday season, says NerdWallet.
55% of credit card users carry a balance on their cards, paying interest rates of 16.86% on average, says website CreditDonkey. The average individual credit card balance is $5,331.
You can see why it’s hard for these folks to get ahead.
They may have money in the bank earning as little as 0.01%. But they’re borrowing that money back (sometimes from the same banks!) at a rate that’s hundreds of times higher.
That’s definitely not a recipe for getting ahead.
The Takeaway: The old-fashioned advice was not to buy something unless you could pay off the bill by the end of the month. Turns out that’s still pretty good advice today!
Need some extra help to get through the holidays without triggering a financial meltdown? Check out “Shop Intentionally to Avoid Holiday Overspending” on NerdWallet.com for some great tips on overcoming the season’s shop-until-you-drop mentality.
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