Missouri Illinois Bankruptcy Attorney Foreclosure Reposession of Car

How We Can Help you

Bankruptcy Blog

Library

Christmas Debt is Still Debt

The Castle Law Group is a bankruptcy law firm based in St. Louis, Missouri. It is our job to help people all over the greater St. Louis area who are struggling under the weight of accumulated debt. Since we started our practice, we have helped thousands of people in Missouri and Illinois get through the bankruptcy process while helping them hold on to as many of their assets as possible. We help our clients get through Chapter 7 and Chapter 13, and we also help with credit counseling and life after bankruptcy. If you or a loved one in or around St. Louis is dealing with severe debt problems, contact the Castle Law Group for a free legal consultation today.

The Christmas holiday season is upon us, and while we are supposed to be thinking about friends, family and loved ones, those of you who are in debt are probably distracted with other concerns. The fact is, the holiday season is very, very expensive. Some of us have to pay for travel to go and visit relatives, some of us have to lose pay from time off of work, and practically everyone has to pay for gifts for friends and family.

This might be okay for people with a steady source of income and money in the bank, but for those of us who happen to be in serious debt, the holidays are anything but a source of good cheer. Gifts aren’t something that comes from the heart as much as they are costly obligations that drag you deeper into a financial hole.

Many of us go even further into debt and use their credit cards in order to purchase gifts for their family, friends and loved ones, which will make the minimum payment on the credit cards even higher. And if all you pay is the minimum payment in the first place, you can bet that your debt situation won’t be clearing up anytime soon.

So what do you do? How do you handle a situation where you are practically obligated to buy gifts when the last thing you can afford is to buy them?

Make Your Own Gifts: Do you knit? Do you paint? Do you do woodwork? Can you bake? Putting these skills to work would probably be a much more cost effective way to bring holiday cheer than taking the credit card to Best Buy.

Pick a Person: This works with the family and friends/co-workers. Get all of your friends together and put their names in a hat, or do the same things with your family. Whichever name you pull out at random is the person that you buy the gift for. You can also do a price limit to level things out even more. This is simply a variation of “Secret Santa.” Whether you want to keep the identities of the gift giver anonymous or not is entirely up to you.

Shop as Early as Possible: Who says that you have to wait until Black Friday to find the sales? Why not buy a gift in January? Or April? Or other time of the year? Spreading out your gift purchases over the year and keeping them stashed in a safe place is a smart way to avoid having to splurge and go deeper into a financial hole over the holiday season.

Start Saving Early: Rather than consider how little money you have for gifts over the holidays, wouldn’t it be better to already have some money saved up for that particular purpose? It doesn’t have to be a lot to make a difference. Simply $15 or $20 per month in a savings account (or even an envelope in your sock drawer for that matter) could help you put a dent in your holiday costs. And $15 or $20 a month might not be something that you even really miss.

It might be a little late to implement these suggestions right now, but you should definitely consider them for next year.

At the Castle Law Office, we help people in St. Louis get through the bankruptcy process, as well as help them learn how to adjust to life after bankruptcy. We have found that for most of our clients, the holidays can be the easiest time of year for people who have gone through the bankruptcy process to slide back into their old habits. Keeping your head above the financial waters takes discipline and a re-thinking of your spending habits, and we can help you learn how to swim.

If you or a loved one in St. Louis is considering filing for bankruptcy, contact the Castle Law Office for a free legal consultation today.

Got A Question?

News

FAQs