Credit cards

For all you holiday shoppers out there that are thinking about getting credit cards to pay for holiday gifts, you should probably think about it thoroughly. If you can't afford the gifts now, then you probably can't afford them latter. I know this time of year more than any stores are offering credit cards with a percentage off your purchase, cash back on your first bill, and no interest for X amount of months. This sounds fabulous at the time, you could buy more gifts, not pay for them right away, or even buy yourself something. Most likely after you proceed with all these credit cards, you will end up in a rut that will eventually kill your credit score. Please beware of all these fancy offers that sound too good to be true. The credit companies will get your money while stressing you out come the new year. As for the credit cards with no interest financing remember if you fail to pay your card off at the end of the period you will be charged for interest from the point of purchase not solely on your remaining balance. At the average interest rate of 20% your $1,000 purchase if not paid in say a 6 month period will end up costing you at least an extra $100 dollars. And keep in mind that you would need at least to pay at least $167 every month to pay the credit card off before your 6 month period is over. Can you really afford that or should you stick with what you can afford now?