GREENSBORO, N.C. — Holiday shopping is in full effect. People everywhere are gathering gifts for friends, families and themselves.
This year may be harder than others for some because of inflation. It's made everything more expensive.
Money expert Ja'Net Adams and MoneyTips' Senior Finance Industry Analyst Nathan Grant joined 2 Wants to Know to help you navigate it all.
Know the best ways to save money:
Set a holiday spending budget so you have a cutoff
Start shopping early so you’re not buying everything at once, it can add up quickly!
Save money elsewhere such as ending unused subscription services and use that towards holiday spending.
Choose the best forms of payment:
Credit cards are more secure than debit, and if you use them strategically, you can actually save money this holiday.
Only spend on a credit card what you can afford to pay off by the due date.
Use specific cards that earn rewards on purchases you are already making. This could be cards that earn cash back on certain categories of purchases, a retailer-specific credit card that provides a discount where you are already planning to shop, or cards that save on gas and groceries so you can apply those savings towards your holiday shopping.
If you’re approved for a new credit card with a sign-on bonus or 0% introductory APR, you can use those to your advantage this holiday
Avoid holiday debt come the new year:
Don’t simply lean on credit cards. Avoid using credit for something you know you can’t pay off right away. High-interest debt is the main reason people get stuck in a debt cycle and high balances from holiday shopping could have higher interest rates, especially if you use retail store credit cards which typically have even higher interest rates.
