Personal Finance Tips for the Holidays December 14th, 2011
The holidays can be stressful, especially when money is tight. Follow these easy steps to make your holiday – on any budget – a real time for celebration.
Make a plan: Make up your mind to not let gift-giving break the bank. Come to terms with what you can reasonably spend this year and make a budget!
Stick to a budget: Once you have your budget, stick to it! Keep track of how much you spend and make sure that number never exceeds your budget. Don’t forget that credit purchases must be paid back in the future, so do yourself a favor now and stick to your budget for a happy new year.
Protect your identity: Monitor your accounts and report any unauthorized activity to your bank or credit card company immediately. Be cautious when giving credit card information over the phone or online. When making a purchase, be sure you called them, not the other way around. When buying online, double check the URL of the website you are on; is it the URL of the store or a reputable payment system like Paypal? The URL should begin with “https://” (instead of the usual “http://”), which indicates a secure connection. Get your free yearly credit report from annualcreditreport.com.
Communicate with your creditors: If you anticipate having trouble making a payment on existing debt, call your creditor to discuss a different payment arrangement. It won’t eliminate the debt, but it will help keep your head above water while you organize your personal finances. If you are already behind on payments, communicating with your creditor (credit cards, loans, mortgage, medical bills, etc.) can help keep negative reports off of your credit report.
Communicate with debt collectors: Ignoring a problem usually doesn’t make it go away and the same is especially true for debt. You must communicate with the debt collector – whether that communication is mean to collect payment on debt, verify an alleged debt, or to simply confirm the collector has reached the wrong person.
Know your rights: Consumers have rights under federal and state law. For more information about consumer rights in debt collection or to get your questions answered, go to www.askdoctordebt.org, a website created by the ACA International Education Foundation. It’s a FREE resource available in English and Spanish, so spread the word! Everyone should know their rights.
Additional information about consumer rights and debt collection are available from the Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, the Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Jump$tart.
HMI Financial Services is a proud member of ACA of Texas. Image credit Alan Cleaver.
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