Page 4 - Copyright 2013 - Pamplin Media Group

PAGE 4 NOVEMBER 27, 2013
The holiday season is a great time for
merriment — finding the perfect
gifts for your loved ones and gather-
ing with friends and family to celebrate
the season. However, the holidays can
cause a strain on your credit if you don’t
take certain precautions. Don’t let this
year’s celebration leave you with the
credit blues come January.
Here are some tips to prevent damage
to your credit score during the holiday
season:
Resist opening new store credit cards
Those one-time discount offers are
tempting, especially while you’re racking
up large shopping bills at different de-
partment stores. If you have established
credit, it might not be in your best inter-
est to open multiple retail store-spon-
sored credit accounts. A good rule of
thumb is to apply for credit only when
you need it. If you were to open multiple
accounts just for the holiday season to
get those one-time, 5 percent off dis-
counts, the resulting negative impact to
your credit score could last a long time.
However, if you are trying to establish
credit, department store or “branded”
cards may be a good first step in estab-
lishing credit and positive payment pat-
terns.
Avoid accumulating too much debt
Paying your credit card bills in full,
and on-time, is key to maintaining good
credit. But if you aren’t careful in your
budgeting, you might find yourself need-
ing to take a couple of extra months to
pay off those holiday
bills. The percentage
of debt, relative to
the borrowing limit
on a credit card ac-
count, is factored di-
rectly into your credit
score.
“It’s easy to overuse the credit card
for all holiday purchases, and this behav-
ior can negatively impact a credit score
that will last for months or even years to
come if you can’t pay that debt down in
a reasonable amount of time,” said Bar-
rett Burns, president and CEO of a credit
score model developer. “Shoppers should
carefully budget how
much they’ll spend on
holiday purchases, so
they can avoid max-
ing out their cards and
also be able to pay off
the bills in full when
they arrive.”
Burns advised people to keep credit
card balances under 30 percent of the
maximum amount of credit available.
For example, if your credit limit on a
particular card is $1,000, try to keep
charges on that card under $300.
Keep an eye on your cards
The holiday season is also the season
for credit and identity theft. While it’s
nearly impossible to completely prevent
identity theft from occurring, shoppers
can take steps to make it more difficult
for thieves to steal their credit informa-
tion for fraudulent use. Some tips in-
clude:
- When shopping online, check that
the website has https:// in the URL ad-
dress, or a lock symbol on the page
showing that the page is secure.
- Only take one credit/debit card on
each shopping trip, and only bring it out
when making a purchase. Carefully con-
ceal your card on your person, protecting
against pickpockets.
- Be alert — looking for over-the-
shoulder peepers or worse, someone with
a camera.
- Only use secure ATMs at your finan-
cial institution.
- Save all receipts to compare with
bills when they arrive. Once paid, shred
all receipts. If the item is a gift, ask for a
gift receipt so the recipient can use the
gift receipt to make an exchange, if nec-
essary.
- Monitor your credit report for any
fraudulent activity once the holiday sea-
son is over. Take action immediately to
report errors.
— Brandpoint Media
Protect your credit while shopping this holiday season
DIY decorating that lasts all season long
Let us lend you a few tips on preventing damage to your credit score as the Christmas buying spree unfolds
Simple accents will lend a holiday aire to your home this season
As the holiday shopping season unfolds keep an especially wary eye out for theft by keeping your credit cards close to you.
“It’s easy to overuse the credit card for all
holiday purchases, and this behavior can
negatively impact a credit score that will
last for months or even years to come
if you can’t pay that debt down in a
reasonable amount of time.”
As the holidays roll around,
it’s natural to want to spread
good tidings and cheer with
festive decorations like wreaths,
candy canes and Santa Claus fig-
urines. But this year, instead of
digging out the same old holiday
decorations, why not create some
new looks that will last the entire
winter season, even after you put
away the gift wrap and orna-
ments?
Stimulate the senses
Nothing says winter like the
fresh smell of pine and the soft,
warm glow of candlelight. Repur-
pose simple glass bottles into an
outdoorsy candlescape with a
stone-textured spray paint. Once
Please read more about decor tips
on page five
Inexpensive
candle
holders and
other metal-
lic objects
can be
spray-
painted to
create
tasteful
seasonal
accents for
your home.