This is a festive, happy time of year for most of us. This year, however, a lot of us are looking at stretched budgets and financial worries. Many are making critical decisions about their financial futures. One bad decision that too many people make is not paying their December and/or January bills to pay for Christmas. It is imperative that you do not miss loan payments for Christmas. I wanted to write this article to help you stay committed to your get out of debt plan during the Christmas season.
Every Christmas is a joy, but if you skip your loan payments in order to have a few extra dollars to get more Christmas gifts, you are making a foolish mistake. This time of year, more and more credit companies are seeing Christmas loan payments being skipped to finance gift-giving or other holiday activities. But, don't allow the pressure of Christmas gift giving destroy you get out of debt plan.
It's estimated that this Holiday season, nearly a million people will skip their monthly mortgage payment and nearly two million will skip unsecured credit payments, such as credit cards.
If you are planning to be one of those people, you should think again. Skipping a mortgage payment is just a bad idea all the way around. Your home is your home and your holidays won't be any brighter or happier knowing that you will have to figure out how to make a double payment next month or stay behind for several months until you can catch up. Getting behind is digging a hole that is harder to climb out of that it was to avoid.
Credit card payments are just as bad, but worse in many respects. Skipping a payment can mean violating your credit agreement and incurring penalties. Usually higher interest rates. That menas that not only are you paying for that skip by making an extra payment, but all of your payments are going to rise because your interest rate is now higher. It's much harder to get the credit card company to lower that rate than it is to keep it low yourself.
Finally, there is your credit. If you've been late before in the past two years, it's likely that your creditor will be willing to exercise their right to report your late payment to the credit bureau. That knocks your score.
Is all of that worth one extra toy or one more gadget under the tree?
Your family's holidays will be a lot happier and sweeter if you put the future first and skip the extra gift-giving in favor of keeping your financial footing intact. This year, families who have a good home and food to eat have plenty to be thankful for already. Enjoy your family, celebrate the birth of Jesus, but don't get further into debt.
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