By now, you’ve probably gotten your first post-holiday season credit card bills.
And that might have been an unpleasant surprise!
It’s really easy to overspend during the holiday season, between parties, gifts, travel and other costs. January is when it all caught up to you, but it’s how you move forward now that matters.
Here are a few ways you can use the next 60 to 90 days to tackle that post-holiday debt.
First, pick a clear, achievable goal. You can choose to work on your credit card balance with the highest interest rate, or tackle the smallest balance first. Either way, write down this goal, such as "pay down $1,500 in debt from my VISA card."
Then, start finding ways to find some quick cash. There are three ways you can do this:
- Sell things you have that you no longer use. This can usually be done online through sites like Facebook Marketplace for items, Poshmark or Thredup for clothes, and local used bookstores for books. Look for local children’s consignment stores, too, if you have items that your kids have outgrown.
- Find new ways to make money, such as by picking up a side gig. You’ll want to avoid jobs that require training or certifications that take a long time. But you may be able to find things that interest you, like pet sitting or dog walking, babysitting, running errands for seniors or something else. You can use sites like Rover, TaskRabbit or GigSmart.
- Find new ways to save money (temporarily). Make just a few high-impact cuts on a temporary basis, such as banning yourself from eating out on weekdays, cutting a few online subscriptions, only using grocery pickup to reduce impulse purchases and make coffee at home. All the money you save can go toward you debt, and you can loosen the reins a bit after you reach your goals. (Or, you may find out that you don’t really miss these things and you can keep saving!) Be sure you’re using any and all possible rewards programs, including those from your grocery store and apps like Upside.
Ask for help! You won’t get what you don’t ask for, so ask for some assistance. You can call your credit card companies and ask for a reduced interest rate for the next 90 days, and if you have a good payment history with them, they might agree to reduce your APR. You can also call your Internet company and ask about retention discounts, talk to your mobile phone provider about switching to a lower-cost plan and ask your utility companies for assistance, too.
Then, get some help from us here at CommonWealth One! If you missed our Paying Down Debt webinar or want to revisit the tips, you can watch the replay anytime to refresh your strategy and stay motivated. We also have a free webinar coming up on February 11 focused on budgeting and gaining control of your spending. We have a free webinar coming up on February 11 about budgeting and gaining control of your spending. It's free, and you can sign up easily through cofcu.org/events. In addition, your CommonWealth One membership comes with free access to Banzai and KOFE, which offer free online financial education courses.
As a member, you can also make an appointment anytime with one of our certified financial counselors, who can help with anything from raising your credit score to budgeting, saving, paying down debt and more!
After you’ve paid down your holiday debt, we encourage you to start a special savings account specifically for holiday spending. Talk to us about setting that up with a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly automatic transfer from your CommonWealth One checking account. Saving just a little bit now can help you a lot next winter.
We look forward to helping you this winter! Thanks for being a member of CommonWealth One!
