Are you the type of couple of starts arguing over holiday spending even before the tree goes up and don’t stop until sometime around the end of March (or maybe longer) when that last credit card payment is finally made? If you are, then today’s blog is going to show you a couple of ways that you can finally dig out from under that debt without killing each other (or making the other cry). Enjoy.
The first is to simply stop blaming each other and accept responsibility for your debt together. No matter which one of you actually swiped the credit card, the blame falls on both of you for either not discussing your holiday budget or putting the responsibility for purchasing all the holiday gifts on the other’s shoulders. The fact is, that debt isn’t going away and yelling or arguing about it isn’t going to make it go away either. So stop arguing and instead start figuring out what to do to pay it off as quickly as possible. (And make a note to discuss holiday spending in more depth this year.)
Next is to figure out exactly what you can do to pay off that debt and make a plan to do it. One thing you can do, which we mentioned in a recent blog, is get a Chase Slate credit card and transfer all of your debt onto it because, with a 0% interest rate for 15 months and no transfer fee in the first 60 days, it will help you to pay a lot less in interest fees and give you a little bit more time (if you truly need it) to pay off those debts. Just make sure that you get them all paid off before the 15 month period ends.
Another way to pay off that debt is to cut expenses independently and use the extra money to pay it down. What we mean is that, rather than trying to put $200 or $300 aside from the family budget every month, each of you take half of that out of your own personal expenses, in any way that you wish, so that you don’t feel like you’re being bullied into cutting back on things that you want most.
Finally, you can both agree to pick up extra work wherever possible and use that extra money to pay down the debt more quickly. In fact, some couples have made a tradition of working a little bit more just before the holidays start in order to have the extra money they need to purchase gifts for loved ones and friends.
The point being is to work together, rather than against each other, to solve your holiday debt dilemma. You never know, if you do it right you might even end up with a stronger, happier relationship.