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Why the Holidays Hate You (Financially)

The Holidays Hate You (Financially) "WAIT, WHAT?" The average American family will spend about $800 on the holidays in 2013. If you put that $800 on the average 13% fixed * THAT'S MORE THAN 3 YEARS TO PAY OFF CHRISTMAS?" rate credit card. It will take 39 months to pay off the balance at the minimum rate of $25/month DEBT HOLE Plus about $320 goes toward interest. JUST THROW THAT You'd actually be paying about MONEY HERE $1130 for Christmas with interest. So.. What if you paid down your debt instead? The average household credit card debt in America is $15,112 "WHY WOULD I WANT TO PAY DOWN MY DEBT?" If you made a minimum payment 00 of $163 per month, You would never pay off that debt. In this case, "APR" means $1,964.56 in yearly interest Thats $163.71 each month. What do monthly payments do to that interest? $15,112 Principle Total Interest Debt Payoff $200 $16.688 158 Months $300 $7,088 74 Months $400 $4478 49 Months $500 $3,388 37 Months $600 $2,888 30 Months "T'M ACTUALLY PAYING AROUND $20,000? I REALLY AM BURIED IN DEBT.'" Why is it important to pay off debt as soon as possible? Savings = Freedom Tweet this 158 MONTHS $200 $0 $300 $25,200 $400 $43,600 $500 $60,500 $600 $76,800 You already have the money to do this. Here's a terrifying idea: Cut Christmas in Half. WHAT! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? THIS WILL BE THE WORST CHRISTMAS EVER! If you can, don't pĂșt any of your expenses on a credit card Here's the breakdown of how people spend that $800 57% Spent on toys for kids 12% on food/candy 9% on gifts for friends 8% on a tree and flowers 5% on decorations 3% on gifts for co-workers 3% on other gifts 3% on greeting cards It comes down to this change in mindset: The Holidays are about service and gratitude, not about spending. Tweet this Try this: Pay down your debt first Cut other expenses in half Set the kid's expectations Focus on service Give words of gratitude Spend time with loved ones Find happiness with less. Tweet this You could pay off your current debt in 'X' years OR You could pay it off and save 5x what you owe in the same time without increasing your income. "I GUESS IT'S ALL ABOUT HOW YOU LOOK AT THINGS" "YoU SAID FREE, RIGHT?" Set up a FREE FlexScore account. Find out how to decrease your debt and increase your net-worth with a free FlexScore account at Flexscore.com. shr his O0 FlexScore Citations: http://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/credit-card-datalaverage-credit-card-debt-household/ http://www.bankrate.com/finance/credit-cards/rate-roundup.aspx http://www.creditcards.com/calculators/minimum-payment.php http://americanresearchgroup.com/holidayl http://www.forbes.com/sites/bruceupbin/2013/09/16/what-does-a-billion-dollars-buy-you-videol http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tym9AhMNcPO http://www.forbes.com/special-report/2013/what-a-billion-dollars-buys-you.html http://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/1112/average-cost-of-an-american-christmas.aspx http://finance.yahoo.com/news/average-cost-american-christmas-222932405.html http://americanresearchgroup.com/holiday http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2002/dec/15/christmas.theobserver - Does christmas spending make us happy? http://www.forbes.com/sites/jennagoudreau/2012/12/10/how-to-stay-out-of-debt-this-christmas/ http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/christmas-savings http://www.express.co.uk/comment/columnists/ann-widdecombe/214687/Christmas-We-spend-so-much-time-shopping-but-does-it-make-us-happy http://bemorewithless.com/5-ways-to-have-a-rich-christmas-without-spending-morel http://bemorewithless.com/fightspending/ http://thebillfold.com/2013/11/why-do-we-spend-money-on-things-that-dont-make-us-happy/ http://www.pnas.org/content/107/38/16489 http://visuaLly/how-much-do-americans-spend-over-christmas

Why the Holidays Hate You (Financially)

shared by sarahjbuhr on Dec 07
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Break down of what American's spend during the holidays and how that affects debt and finances in the coming months.

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Sarah Buhr

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Seth Jenks

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