Rebuilding your life after bankruptcy; don't cave to holiday
pressures!
There's something about shopping during the holidays as I watch
consumers being attacked by exuberant cashiers pushing their
store's credit card that gets me concerned for those trying to
build a solid life after bankruptcy.
These clerks seem to be unaware of how careful individuals have
been all year to build their life after bankruptcy; by watching
what they spend, and how easy it is to go over budget. Offering
a "credit rebuilder" a new card is like offering a recovering
chocoholic a gooey double-fudge brownie supreme.
The holidays bring about mixed feelings among my clients: joy,
anxiety, fear, sadness....not any of it relating to the reason
for the season.
Rebuilding your credit and creating the life after bankruptcy
that you desire is a difficult tightrope balance between moving
forward with your life and not ruining the upward progress of
your credit score.
Holidays mean gift-giving gatherings with sometimes hundreds of
people, if you total them all up. Pressure rises when the office
party committee asks us to pitch in for gifts for management.
Your head starts spinning when you think about how your extended
family has grown and how they will all exchange presents
Christmas Eve at your house this year. You finally feel the wind
knocked out of your sails when the cashier tells you that you
can save up to 25% on your purchase if you apply for their
wonderful store credit card.
Just remember and keep this thought at the front of your
mind...creating the desirable life after bankruptcy is the
objective, not the savings of 25% that is surely to be out of
our original budget anyway.
As someone who has recently discharged a bankruptcy and is
trying to rebuild life after bankruptcy as well as create a high
credit rating, should you respond to such a sweet, seductive
offer? (Twenty-five percent off purchases, after all, would give
you the extra money to buy Aunt Millie that deluxe food
steamer!)
But here's what I teach as a financial counselor from Credit Is
Key: though it is much easier said than done, do NOT apply for
any credit cards during the holiday crunch.
Every financial move should be the result of planning and
preparation for your life after bankruptcy - not suddenly caving
in to pacify the salesclerk - or Aunt Millie. If you say "yes,"
then the store will make an inquiry on your credit.
Did you know that even a couple inquiries will actually hurt
your credit?
Rebuilding your life after bankruptcy requires inner strength. A
strength you have been nurturing and growing since your
discharge. A strength that is given a boost by having a specific
goal in mind and a planned strategy in place; building a
wonderful credit rating to enjoy your life after bankruptcy.
Help yourself! Instead of falling into the
"get-a-credit-card-and-reduce-your-spending" trap, try these
ideas for holiday savings --- without inquiries or damaging
rejections. Always remember the objective...improve your life
after bankruptcy by improving your credit rating!
* Let's get back to sweet Aunt Millie. Do you really think she
cares what gift you give her? Your friends and family care more
about you, your life after bankruptcy and your financial future
than any gift you could bring. Aunt Millie would be delighted
with any small token of affection and would much rather have a
visit from you than to have you depressed or bankrupt again. *
Christmas cards are expensive, consider sending e-mail greetings
or holiday cards. * Many people would rather have an
old-fashioned, hand-made gift than an expensive gadget. Consider
these hand-crafted, thoughtful options: o Frame your favorite
photograph of you and the recipient; group several snapshots in
an inexpensive frame. Your life after bankruptcy is much more
important and this gift lasts forever. o Instead of buying each
other gifts, go out to lunch or dinner together. o An
alternative to giving every member of your family something is
to suggest doing a "Secret Santa" gift. Each person buys just
for one other person, instead of a whole family. Remember,
creating your ideal life after bankruptcy does not have to be an
"ordeal", the Secret Santa method is fun. o Celebrate the winter
holidays with a holiday "spending freeze." Set a limit, remain
committed to your life after bankruptcy and don't go over it.
Agree to keep your spending at this level for the next several
years. Part of the joy is in which friend or family member can
be the most creative or find the most interesting gift for under
$10.00. (Talk about friendly competition! You'll probably laugh
a lot more than if everyone had given fancy, store-bought
gifts!) You see, creating your ideal life after bankruptcy does
not have to be boring. o If you can cook, present a coupon for a
delivered dinner or casserole on a certain night. Send cookies
in February or a cake on a birthday. (Sometimes people need and
appreciate these things more at other times of the year than
they do at Christmas.) o If you're creative, call a day with
your family to make presents; handmade stationery or notecards,
hot chocolate or spiced tea mix, painted t-shirts, or slippers
embellished with buttons, ribbons, or initials, embroidered
dishtowels, or create a scrapbook of family stories and
quotations. Many clients gain huge perspective during their life
after bankruptcy regarding the true meaning of holidays. o
Instead of buying a lot of unnecessary items, buy each person
one nice gift. (You'll be surprised how those tiny little
"filler" presents add to the budget!) o A family favorite, even
if you aren't trying to stay within a budget, is to create a
"Gift Coupon Book", regardless of your life after bankruptcy
commitment. In it you can entitle bearer to free breakfast in
bed, a leisurely Saturday without kids, and even 'wildcard'
coupons that let the bearer fill in the gift.
Make sure you know your receiver well if you intend to include
the last category!
The offer to get a credit card may be appealing, but in the
long-run, enjoying the holidays, your family, (especially that
sweet Aunt Millie!) your friends, and knowing you stuck to your
plan of rebuilding your life after bankruptcy, control over your
finances, is much more rewarding than a smile on that cashier's
face.
For those needing their own strategy to rebuild credit and their
life after bankruptcy, join the Credit Is Key membership
website. Members enjoy access to many life after bankruptcy
rebuilding resources, including a FREE e-course on strategies to
quickly and effectively rebuild your damaged credit.
Join the Credit Is Key membership website and receive a FREE
e-course to use our proven strategies to rebuild your credit and
your life after bankruptcy Click now to rebuild your life after bankruptcy.