Many Shoppers Plan to Leave Home Without It

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When it comes to paying for your Christmas gifts and holiday dinners how are you planning to pay for it? For many the answer is simple, and this could be bad news for credit card issuers who are hoping to take part in your holiday joy. In a recent survey by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling also known as the NFCC, more people are planning to shop with their credit cards at home, instead opting to pay for things with cash. In what should be no surprise, only 22 percent of those polled stated that they would be using their cards to make gift purchases. Of those more than half stated that they are only spending what they are able to pay off in full.

 

For many Americans, Christmas is a time for joy in happiness but that feeling is not long lived once December is over and their credit card statement comes in the mail. During this time people tend to pay a little more attention to the cost of items only after they have charged them and see the cost with interest attached. According to an article entitled, "5 Ways to Dodge the Holiday Credit Card Hangover" this doesn’t have to be the case and it is far easier than many people imagine.

 

While this is a great article for those who are going to be using plastic to pay for goods, there are many reasons to just leave your card behind during this time. As we approach the implementation date for the CARD Act many experts predict that cardholders will see another way of interest rate increase as well as increased fees. While you may be comfortable with your current interest rate (not likely the case), you could be caught in the next "wave" of changes that could end up having you pay more for your Christmas joy than you bargained for.