With the holidays quickly approaching, Americans will be deciding how much they can
afford to spend on gifts and holiday expenses. Nathan Astle, Beyond Finance’s financial
therapist, spoke with the National Desk to encourage Americans burdened with credit
card debt to be frugal this holiday shopping season.
The latest numbers from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York show Americans’ credit
card balance totals $1.14 trillion — nearly 6% more than last year. Beyond Finance, a
debt consolidation company, has been helping consumers access lower payments and
a quicker path to a debt-free life since 2011.
“A big part of this is not continuing to add to the debt, changing some of the behaviors
or habits that got you in debt in the first place is most important, and then figuring out how to pay down the debt is part two.”
Astle recommends establishing a budget, setting up automatic savings plans, and
bringing in additional income to pay down that debt little by little.
Holiday shoppers may be responding. A recent Bankrate survey says many are
shortening their wish lists to spend less this year.