Did You Spend too Much for Christmas?

My wife and mother-in-law recently went shopping for Black Friday. Having already preselected the deals they were going to get…they executed their shopping trip and bought just about everything they wanted. When they came back they had many great stories to tell. All of these stories had me shaking my head in dismay. There were people buying 2 carts full of toys at Toy’s R Us. Big TV’s, Blu-Ray Players, and all sorts of big-ticket electronics were sold at Target and Walmart in droves. The frenzy didn’t end till well after 6:00pm Friday night.

But then something strange happened. On Saturday (VERY NEXT DAY) there were long lines at the RETURN DESKS! The same people who waited in long lines to BUY stuff are now waiting in long lines to RETURN it? Big Screen TV’s, Blu-Ray Players, and toys were all being returned. Could it be that they found a better deal somewhere else? I have my doubts!

What is going on here?

I had always thought that the returns would happen AFTER Christmas…meaning AFTER the items were wrapped up and given away as presents. Not So! It appears that people who were caught up in the spending frenzy of Black Friday were buying things on CREDIT CARDS! They bought too much stuff using money they didn’t have, and came into the store with NO PLAN. After they had a chance to sleep on it, the buyer’s remorse kicked in and convicted them. They spent too much on credit and they know that they cannot afford the payments. The only thing left to do is to take the item back.

So how to you avoid waiting in line to buy things you’ll just take back later? It’s easy…USE CASH!

You can’t possibly overspend if you run out of cash now can you? And you won’t overfill your cart if you think you’ll see the word “DECLINE” when you use your debit card. You should already have an idea of what you’re going for when you shop and how much it’s going to cost. Set yourself a limit before go as well, in case you DO find some unadvertised deals out there.

Christmas should never leave you in more debt than what you started with. The problem is that many people feel obligated to out-do their siblings, or their parents, or their friends and digging themselves into a hole. Instead of CHARGING to buy gifts for people when you are low on cash…MAKE the gifts instead. I have found that the best gifts were hand made and were more meaningful than any gadget money can buy. Make something that is uniquely you, and has meaning for the person you are giving it to.

If you were caught by the spending bug…don’t fret. I know your heart’s in the right place. Pay it off as fast as you can and start saving cash for next Christmas!