1. Double the cost of anything you buy with a credit card and don't intend to pay off when the bill comes next month.
   The absolute worst move you can make is to charge gifts on a credit card you can't afford to pay off. If you run up a $1,000 balance this holiday season -- and that's close to the forecast of average individual spending -- and you intend to pay it off slowly each month by making minimum payments, your interest charges will total around $1,000 if your card has an 18 percent rate.
2. Disorganization will cost you big-time. Before you spend one penny on gifts, create a master list of every person you intend to give a gift to this year. Then figure out a reasonable total dollar amount you can afford to spend on gifts this year. Every time you make a gift purchase, record it in your budget list: how much you spend, who the gift is for, and how much money is left in the budget. Don't skip the "who" part; we've all been stuck with more presents for someone than we anticipated simply because we forgot about the one we bought last week or last month. Keep track.
3. Decline store card offers. When you're standing at a checkout counter and the clerk offers you a 10 percent discount if you agree to open a store credit card account, say no. It's a multifaceted trap.First, it seems to be human nature that you'll use that 10 percent discount as an excuse to buy more. You figure you're saving 10 percent, so why not pick up a few more things? Here's why: Because you'll end up spending more than you intended when you first stepped up to the cash register.Next, the more cards you put your spending on, the harder it is to keep track of your spending. It isn't until January that you remember the $80 you spent on the new department store card. And if you can't pay the off bill pronto, you're really in bad shape: Retail credit cards typically charge 20 percent or more in interest.
4. Handle your gift card with care. An all-too-common pattern is to spend more than the amount of a gift card. A lot of folks plan to add their own cash to money they receive on a gift card to purchase items they want. So, instead of spending the $100 gift card at the electronics store, you end up spending $400 for the game console of your dreams, and are content that you only had to spend $300 of your own money to buy it.
5. You can't buy friends or love.An important relationship is not defined by what you spend on a holiday gift. So often, people tell me they feel pressure to shower their friends and family with holiday gifts even though they can't really afford it.No one is going to love you less or devalue a treasured friendship just because you're not exchanging expensive gifts this year.

www.patriciawangness.com

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