Planning, lists can help you avoid holiday debt
4:22 p.m. Thursday, November 22, 2007
"A lot of people just go out and splurge spend," certified credit counselor Walter Glaude said. "Splurge spending doesn't do you any good. You need to work off a budget just like you work during the whole year."
Glaude is a certified credit counselor for Housing and Credit Counseling, Inc. Walter says create a budget list to keep tabs on what you're spending.
"Use a list, mom, dad, cousins, uncles, aunts. And then figure out how much you wanna spend for each person," Glaude said. "That'll help you stay within your spending budget for the holidays."
Plan what you're going to buy and stick to it. And leave the credit cards at home. Use cash or a debit card.
"Once you're done with that cash or your debit card, once you're done with your cash you should be done with your spending, " Glaude said.
Also, shop early.
"If you shop early, you can catch all the sales," Glaude said. "And if you use all the sale flyers, it'll help you get a better rate."
And Walter says most importantly . . .
"Don't impulse shop. Don't buy out of guilt. And definitely don't try to keep up with the Joneses. Let the holiday be a bright holiday for you."
Make your list...
For your shopping convenience, here is a list of stores and when they open on Black Friday:
- JC Penney - Doorbuster hours 4 a.m.-1 p.m.; bonus coupon savings, 3 p.m.-11 p.m.
- Kohl’s - Early bird specials 4 a.m.-1 p.m.
- K-Mart - Special sale 6 a.m.-11 a.m.
- Sears - Early opening specials 5 a.m.-12 noon
- Gordmans - Extra savings bags 5 a.m.-9a.m., Doorbusters 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
- Burlington Coat Factory - 7 a.m.-10 p.m.
- Old Navy - Doorbuster deals 5 a.m.
- Bed, Bath and Beyond - 20% off entire purchase from 6 a.m.-10 a.m.
- Best Buy - Doorbuster hours 5 a.m. until specials are sold out
- Hastings - Four hour sale 8 a.m.-12 noon
- Home Depot-6 a.m.
- Lowes- 7 a.m.
- Toys R Us - Doorbuster specials 5 a.m.- 12 noon
To access the Black Friday ads for major retailers, log onto www.blackfriday.info.
Comments
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Dec. 5, 2008 at 12:22 a.m. (Suggest removal)HomeFinanceBlog (anonymous)
Great advice, i've posted a more 'updated' series of tips + guidelines on my blog that hopefully show people how to avoid holiday debt. You can view that here:
http://www.homefinancejournal.com/blog/h...
Great resource, thanks a lot!
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