Shoppers avoid holiday debt
If you spent more than you were hoping this holiday weekend, you may be one of the few people who went over budget.
Financial experts said the this years trend was a little different — many people decided to keep their money in their wallets. Personal finance counselor Luke Erickson said this could be due to a new concept called the “creep.”
“It use to be that Thanksgiving weekend is when shopping started. Then, it moved to Thanksgiving weekend and then into Thanksgiving itself. Now we’re starting to see it creep into even before Thanksgiving,” he said.
Although consumers are being more cautious with their spending, the holiday season is far from over. Erickson said there are a few things people can do to make sure they stay out of debt.
“Go ahead and start saving just a little bit each month, that way when the holiday season is around, you’re ready to go with a savings account,” said Erickson.
This means it’s too late if you just started saving for this year’s shopping, so it may be time to make some cuts on your gift list.
“Don’t give gifts needlessly, put a little thought into it. I think that will help save you some money and it will also be a more meaningful gift in a lot of cases too,” he said.
