now that the Christmas season is over, tis the season for credit card payment

I don't have credit cards, so I don't charge anything. It makes it more fun at holiday time coming up with inventive gifts. Of course I also am a comparison shopper and will shop around until I find the best price for the gift I am going to give. The big gift I bought my BF this year was a new microwave. The one I wanted to get was $75 and I found it for $50 at another store. Guess which one I bought. I also make a lot of my gifts too. I made my BF a quilt and also some flannel boxers. I will say that I taught my daughter long ago that it wasn't the number of gifts that made Christmas, it was the heart that made Christmas. I would make sure that we gave gifts and food to the needy. Also before Christmas we would go through her toys and eliminate many that she was no longer playing with and were still good and would donate them to charity. She got used to receiving hand made gifts along with the store bought, and learned that it wasn't all the money being spent that made Christmas, it was the giving and helping others that made Christmas.

Even though I have a few credit cards, and I use them frequently, I pay all my dues in one shot at the beginning of the month. I had a lot of troubles with some credit cards, when I used their revolving credit facilities,and because of this my name was marked as a defaulter. So I have paid all my dues, and from that day onwards I never keep any credit, and pay back in full the next month.

Another reason why people hate January! All that expense that is Christmas needs to be paid off and as sure as night follows day, as does that dreaded credit card bill statement plopping through your letterbox in January! I prefer to pay by the old fashion method of cash, that way there are no nasty surprises awaiting me in the New Year. You are more in control when you pay by cash and it's easier to budget well I think so personally. I think people spend what they don't have and it's only when they get the statement that they realize just how costly Christmas has been for them.

Luckily we don't have any credit cards. This year we started shopping in October and next year I am going to be telling all my and my partners that we are only doing token gifts as we spent loads just cos there are lots of them. Of course next year I will be getting my little boy more. He is only 10 months old se we kept it very low key with one big present and some stocking fillers. We didn't want it getting out of hand.

This was such a nightmare in the past, but I am happy happy to say that this year, I paid cash for absolutely everything! I did away with all of my credit cards over a year ago. Such a relief, since I figure that by the time I could get them paid off, I'd paid at least twice for everything, given the interest rates. Karen

Hiya cher913, Really am glad in a way that I don´t have a credit card to use. I just use money. No presents this Year as that has been a big no no and just enough to put food on the Table so have been very grateful for that. Credit Cards can be very useful for emergencies but not for anything much else.

Nope, we didn't use our credit cards at all this year. We gave our kids cash and let them shop on their free time. We have 3 birthdays in December also so everything was included in one lump sum. It worked better for all of us since I'm not a shopper and it's difficult to buy for our three grown daughters. Sometimes we do gift cards or restaurant food gift cards. I know it's not as personal as gifts for each person but it's easier for me.

I tend to buy presents at any time if I see something that I think will make a nice present I will get it and keep it until its the right time. I NEVER use a credit card to buy presents and this year I have been concentrating on paying off all of my credit card ballences - something that I have just managed to do. All f my payments now are either cash or with a debit card.

Yes I did, but I only used 300 USD I believe, so in about 1 month I'll have it paid off in full. I couldn't imagine charging so much money. Unfortunately, with everyone changing tastes, I just cannot do shopping earlier as you said in October. That would have been nice to do. I don't like credit cards, so you are right it's better not to use them too much.

Due to bad experiences in the past I don't use credit cards anymore but uses debit cards in my purchases. At least debit cards have some kind of control on my budget.

I think people should do what you do more often, shop all year round for this and that, and by the time Christmas gets here, they've already got what they need, they wouldn't have to go in debt. We don't have credit cards, so we don't buy anything on credit, and have all these payments to worry about. I don't know why people do that to themselves, by the time they get it paid off, its been another year and here comes Christmas again and they'll start all over again...Thats good thinking on your part..

Hi, Cher! I am glad that we did not use the credit card for buying presents or food this year. I only used my debit card and transferred some money I earned online to my card. My hubby and I used cash, but the trouble was when I was going to withdraw the cash from the ATM. There were some problems and quite maddening as I have to go to the bank to find out why I was unable to withdraw my money. The problems were solved and now I am looking forward to New Year's celebration.

This year was the first time that my husband and I have not racked up a ton of credit card debt for Christmas and it feels so good. All of the things that we gave to our children actually belong to them and not to a bank. We decided in September that we were done with credit cards and especially done with funding Christmas using a credit card. It is perhaps one of the greatest feelings ever. We are so happy with doing that. I told him a week before Black Friday that I would have to have 100 dollars to finish up my shopping and we messed around with our budget until we had that 100 dollars of wiggle room for me to finish my shopping and it made be a very happy person. I just wish that there were more people that were able to realize that doing your Christmas shopping with credit cards is a very dangerous thing. Yes, our children may not have gotten quite as much as they might have in the past, but they appreciated what they got and they aren't overloaded at all.

I like to use credit card. All the banks here encourage people to use credit card. You can get prizes with the points you accumulated during using them from banks. And personally, it is more convenient to carry a card than cash when shopping. I am not afraid of losing it since people can not use it without my passcode. And credit cards do help when you are short of money to buy something you are in urgent need. So I think cred card is a good thing for modern people. But one thing we should keep in mind is to spend money reasonably and not to borrow more than you can pay back. Credit is important too!

We tried really hard not to use our credit cards this year, and we managed not to! We saved up a little bit each month, plus I made a bunch of gifts. It was hard work, but it was worth it.

I did not use a credit card, primarily because I don't have one. I don't need to feel important so a credit card company can charge me interest on something I bought to make my kids or me happy. We bought everything with cash and the only thing we'll be doing in January and the months after is enjoying our gifts.

Hey cher! I am thankfully also not having any credit card payments this year because I didn't spend too much money that I didn't have and I paid cash! I am not doing well either financially so we kept this Christmas very low key and didn't go crazy and only bought a few gifts for each. It was really just for me and my boyfriend and we bought each other what we needed mostly. And there will be no credit card payments to worry about and that is the best part!

yes i always prefer to use my credit card to buy things for the christmas and for the daily stuffs also. i remember once i backed my hometown and bought a lot things to the family so after i back and see the credit card statement. i was been scared that's really a large amount and extra load to me actually.thank godness i have paid that already now.

we didn't use credit, we spent cash. Because I waited til the very last minute I probably spent more than I had to. Next year I am shopping all year long and having it done by Nov. 1st so I can enjoy the holiday more.

I didn't use my credit card to purchase anything. All I used were cash. Cash is inconvenient for some people. But for me, it's an effective way of taking control of your budget. Or you can use a prepaid credit card. That way, you use what you have and don't have to worry about the debt with the bank.