The Christmas bills are bound to start arriving in the near future, and the balance may come as a surprise to some, who didn’t keep track of their spending over the holidays.
Senior Advisor with Maisey Financial Services John Maisey says first off, you should take a close look at your statement, “Just make sure that the charges are yours, first and foremost. If you have that WOW factor with the balance, and didn’t think it was going to be that high, come up with a plan. If you are carrying a high interest credit rate, a lot of credit card companies have lower interest options.”
If your credit is in good shape, you can also pay a visit to a financial institution, “You can look at getting a line of credit, with a more favourable rate. But when you do that, make sure you lower the limits on your cards, because you don’t want to access too much credit, ” he adds.
Maisey says if you find that you have overspent, and think you are in trouble, it may be time to visit a financial advisor, “Chances are, you’re not going to want to talk to someone close to you, because from my experience, it’s easier to talk to a stranger. There’s no shame in it, it’s just trying to helping you to understand how you got there, how you can get out, and what to do to ensure it never happens again.”
