"21 Tips for Wiser Holiday
Spending To Help You Avoid Becoming a Debt-Head"
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From the non-profit Institute of Consumer Financial
Education (ICFE)
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RELEASE: November 2001
CONTACT: Paul Richard, RFC, ICFE Executive Director
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San Diego, CA. The credit
card issuers may spend over $100 million on advertising, special promotions
and appeals this coming holiday season urging more credit card spending.
Retailers and big ticket manufacturers (appliances, furniture, electronics
and automobiles) may spend an additional $150+ million urging consumers to
apply for newly introduced credit cards and then spend extravagantly by
using them.
According to The Wall Street Journal, 70 percent of Americans have no money
left over after paying basic expenses every month. As food, energy, housing
and other costs push higher it makes it more difficult for consumers to keep
up, much less get ahead. This could mean even more credit card buying than
last year, both for basics and holiday gifts.
How can consumers develop resistance to seductive appeals to spend? "Develop
some financial self-discipline," advises the Institute of Consumer Financial
Education, (ICFE) a San Diego based non-profit group helping people become
better spenders, regular savers and more careful credit users.
The ICFE is making available several “safe spending” helps in the form of
"warning labels" for credit cards. The purpose is to counter the
"indiscriminate spending" messages that are coming from advertising
campaigns encouraging credit card spending. (see # 12 below) The
"safe-charge" program also includes tips for using credit cards, spending
tips for grocery and household items and valuable information on the
importance of everyday spending decisions and how they affect your financial
future in retirement years. It seems to be especially hard for some people
not to be an over-spender during the holidays because of an emotional need
to express love, appreciation, friendship, etc. By employing better spending
techniques, however, people can help eliminate over-spending and keep from
getting over charged with plastic this holiday season.
The ICFE's executive director, Paul Richard, RFC, offers some useful spending
tips and ideas for holiday shoppers which can help consumers spend less
overall and perhaps even eliminate the need for credit-based spending.
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Create a written plan for holiday spending and gift giving a
month or two in advance. Include possible gifts, dollar amounts and
alternative choices.
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Establish spending limits for gifts for each person on your list
and start looking for bargains early.
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If it has been a challenging year financially, you need to
shrink your holiday gift list. Begin by talking with those you
exchange gifts with and explain, perhaps suggesting not exchanging
gifts or mutually observing much lower dollar-limits on gifts.
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Separate shopping trips (when comparing prices, quality, value,
etc.) from spending trips (when making a purchase), and resist
taking cash, credit cards or a checkbook on the shopping trips.
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Wait for those sales! Increased food and energy costs this year
could bite into holiday sales, so sales and clearances could come
earlier than usual.
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Watch the advertising and sale flyers for items you intend to
purchase.
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Ask retailers when the items you are interested in buying are
coming on sale. Most retailers will reveal sale dates because they
don't want you to shop their competition.
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Sometimes shopping later in the season (for smaller gifts
wrapping and accessories, etc.) will allow you to take advantage of
clearance sales. It will often yield lower prices over-all. If
holiday sales are sluggish, discounts and clearance sales will
appear earlier this season.
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Liquidators, buying clubs and factory outlet stores usually
offer lower prices.
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Bulk buying with other family members or friends can also yield
savings.
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Spend cash and avoid using credit cards. Charge cards tend to
promote indiscriminate spending. Credit card users often say they
had no idea how much they spent on the holidays until the credit
card bills arrive in January or February of the next year.
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WARNING,
credit cards have a message: SPEND! Help for credit card
spenders is available from the ICFE. There are "Credit
Card Warning Labels" that four different messages:
“WARNING: Overuse Is Dangerous!" or "Should
I Charge It???" or "Can I Afford It???"
and a new label for 2001 "If You Can Eat It, Drink
It, or Wear It, It Is NOT An Emergency! To get an assortment
of 12 labels with all four messages, please send $5 to:
ICFE PO Box 34070, San Diego, CA 92163 and include a self-addressed,
stamped envelope.
Click Here For Order Options.
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Sometimes writing checks can get out of hand especially when you
fail to record each check or calculate the balance after writing a
check. It often results in over-spending, playing the cash float
game and NSF check charges.
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Giving gifts to adults on New Year's Day is very special. You
can really take advantage of all those after Christmas sales.
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Consider gifts that don't cost a lot of out-of-pocket money.
Giving a card to a young family which entitles them to emergency
baby-sitting time, for example, will result in savings for both
families. Laundry or shirt ironing for a bachelor, a bimonthly
sight-seeing outing for senior citizens or gardening, housecleaning
and car washes for grandparents are useful and often much needed
gifts.
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If considering a part-time job over the holidays, perhaps
working for a department store or other major retailer, you could
economize with an employee discount in addition to getting early
information about up-coming sales.
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At office parties and other holiday functions where you might be
asked to provide a gift, suggest that instead of gifts, bring canned
food for the homeless or disadvantaged.
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Save more on holiday greeting cards and postage by sending only
to those in your life you won't see over the holiday.
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Make more of your gifts at home. A freshly baked loaf of bread,
cookies, desserts, etc. are always appreciated. Also art, crafts,
needle work or a collage of photographs.
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Instead of giving money, especially to younger children, give U.
S. Savings bonds. They cost one half of the face value, will not be
immediately spent, they encourage savings, and because they are
interest bearing and tax free until redemption, the gift keeps on
giving.
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Gift wrapping and incidentals can become costly. It is easy to
economize; give a card with a photo of the gift and the unwrapped
gift, use newspapers, magazines, grocery and shopping bags as gift
wrap or reusable gift boxes, etc.
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It is easy to over-spend, especially during the
holidays, and research shows that 30 cents of every take-home dollar goes
for household and grocery items.
The ICFE has available online at:
http://www.icfe.info a MONEY HELPS section.
To get the packet by mail, please send $1 plus a Self
Addressed, Stamped 60 cents Envelope (SASE) to:
ICFE Money Helps
PO Box 34070
San Diego, CA 92163-4070
The "Money Helps" Packet includes:
(1) "ICFE Spender's
Profile" which helps people identify dangerous spending habits"
(2) "15 steps to improve spending"
(3) "How
to spend smarter for household and grocery items"
(4) "How to
set up and implement a spending-plan";
(plus a budget worksheet) for personal and/or family finances
(5) "Dealing
with creditors"
(6) "Steps
to take to reduce indebtedness" and more
About the ICFE:
The Institute of Consumer Financial Education (ICFE),
founded in 1982 by the late Loren Dunton - creator of the “certified
financial planner” (CFP) designation - is dedicated to helping consumers
of all ages to improve their spending, increase savings and use credit
more wisely. The years between 1984 and 2000, the ICFE was also known as
the National Center for Financial Education (NCFE).
The ICFE is a nonprofit consumer education organization that has helped millions of people through its education programs and resources. Over
one million “Credit
/ Debit Card Warning
Labels” and “Credit
/ Debit Card Sleeves” are in circulation world wide.
The ICFE’s on-line help for consumers who spend too much
was featured in PARADE Magazine (June 9th, 2002) in the Intelligence
Report section. The money helps and tips are from the “Money
Instruction Book,” a course in personal finance, which was completely
revised and updated in 2002 and is positioned to become among the premier
programs in the new bankruptcy and debtor education initiatives.
The ICFE’s “Do-It-Yourself Credit File Correction
Guide,” now in its Twelfth Printing, is in use by thousands of consumer credit and debt
counselors in addition to tens of thousands of consumers. It received a
“buy” rating in July, August and November from nationally syndicated
financial columnist, Humberto Cruz in his column, “The Savings Game".
BottomLine Personal newsletter gave the Guide a “Send For” rating in
September 2001. The ICFE and our do-it-yourself approach to credit file
correction was featured on NBC Nightly News on 04-30-02. The Spanish
edition of the Guide premiered in January 2002. Syndicated columnist,
Robert Heady also gave the ICFE Guide a “buy” rating.
The ICFE Web site at: www.icfe.info helps consumers with
mending spending, learn about the
proper use of credit, budget and expense guidelines, how to set up and implement a
spending-plan and also access financial education courses and videos and how to
teach children about money. Other ICFE services include a
free eNewsletter, and an
on-line resource center of financial education
learning tools, including videos, books and personal finance courses.
Consumers may learn more on the Internet about the "Do-It-Yourself
Credit File Correction Guide" here, or fill out our request
form, indicating your areas of interest.
For more information contact Paul Richard, RFC ICFE Executive Director at 619-239-1401.
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