A10 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, December 11, 1996 “TERRACE STANDARD Business Review Give within your means Credit cards increase danger of over-spending at Christmas CHRISTMAS MAY be a time of giving and sharing, but it’s also a time when lots of people buy way more stuff than they can afford. Skip Bates, manager of the Scotia Bank in Terrace says that during the holi- days, normally responsible people can get caught up in the spending spirit and get in over their heads. “Common scnse goes aut the window,’’ he says, Bates says that same tips to help people slay within their spending limits may sound simple, tut people ofien overlook the simple things at Christmas. For instance, Bates points oul shoppers offen forget that credit cards aren’! an extra source of income, *Nothing’s fiee,?’ he says. ‘You have to pay that money back. The debt doesn’t just disappear, it just keeps growing.'” According to Bates, people also tend to shuffle their spending between several cards, which can be a mistake because some- times those debts get forgot- ten, Another reason not to use several different cards is temptation, “The more plastic you have, the more you tend to spend,”’ Bates says. ‘Try to limit yourself to just one or two cards.” Using fewer cards means having to pay fewer bills, and you won't end up with surprises in the mail. Bates also says thal having less plastic cuts down on impulse buying, which can get shoppers into trouble down the road. ‘People carry all kinds of cards — credit cards, de- partment store cards, debit cards. It’s casy to lose sight of how much you're spend- ing,’’? says Bales. ‘‘Come spring you suddenly realize THE CHRISTMAS shopping season lures many people into overspending, That’s Scotiabank manager Skip Bates displaying some of the different credit cards available. He recommends limiting yoursel to just a couple of them. you can’t afford it all.” And Bates says that if you are going to carry a balance on your credit card, you should shop around for the card with the lowest interest rate. Credit cards can charge more than 25 per cent inter- est annually. That means spending an: extra one quarter of the purchase price just to have a debt. But some cards charge less than ten percent interest ~~ and that's a huge savings for those whe tend to carry a balance on their credit card accounts, Another big Christmas sales pitch is for deferred payment plans. That’s the kind of deal where you don’t have to make a down payment and don’t have to pay any interest for several months. Bates says these offers can be a good idea but he cau- tions shoppers to get all the delails before they buy, “Companies that have these offers aren’t giving you something for noth- ing,”’ he says. ‘'The interest rates when you eventually Start making payments can be quite high, and you can often gel a better price by paying cash.” Bates says people also tend to forget about the debt since they don’t have to pay until several months laler. Then they find they can’t make the payments. “We see that all the time,”” Bates says, ‘People buy = something without looking into it and then tealize they can’t afford it down the road.”” But if you do get in over your head, Bates recom- mends considering con- solidating your debis into one bank lean. That offers the advantage of having oaly one payment to make, a lower interest rate and more manageable monthly payments because the debt is stretched out over a longer periad. But Bates says the time to look into such a plan is be- fore you get behind in your payments. “If you are delinquent making credit card pay- ments your credit rating will ga way down,’’ he says. “Then it will be tough to geta loan.”’ Bates also recommends talking to your banker if you are concerned about making payments, He says it’s far better to be up front and ex- plain your predicament than to avoid them-later on. “We appreciate that,’’ he says. ‘“We7ll work with our customers to figure oul manageable payment sched- ules.”’ Six Xmas finance survival tips @ Plan a budget The more credit cards people have, Know how much money you have and the more they spend. how much you can afford to spend, one or two cards. Don’t go over your spending limit. B Credit isn’t cash @ Shop for cards Different credit cards charge different Credit is not like extra income, Every interest rates, If you time you use plastic you get further in shop for a lower rate. debt. Ultimately this debt has to be gg Get the details repaid. Use less plastic LOWER INTEREST ates for mortgages in October brought a bumper crop of housing sales, according to stats from the Northwest Real Estate Board. The board recorded 146 MLS sales totalling $19.7 million from August through October. That was up 36 per cent from the $14.5 million in sales for the same period of 1995. Wall done NORM! Norm Flann Ted Hicks, Sales Manager, is pleased to announce that NORM FLANN, through his customer satisfaction and sales achievements, has been named SALESMAN OF THE MONTH FOR NOVEMBER. We know that his many frends and loyal customers join us in extending congratulalions. Know what you're getting into when Limit yourself to plan. Make sure you can afford the payinents and look into discounts for paying cash. Don’t forget about the debt. carry a balance, Tell your banker Let your banker know if you are hav- ing trouble making credit card pay- ments. Consider consolidating them you sign up for a deferred payment Northwest real estate sales surge Most of the increase came in October, when northwes! housing sales shot up to $7.2 million and the average real estate price for the northwest climbed 29 per cent from $126,957 to $163,502, The northwest figures mir- rored those across the pro- vince, where B.C. Real Estate Associalion president Doug Perry attributed the = The Stranger: &, CHEWY Temeact wEeperinca y HOldsmoblle pry a 3S PONTIALS Chevrolet buying interest to cheap marigages. “The continuing low in- terest rates for mortgages, and stable sale prices, have brought more first-time buyers into the market and encouraged others to make into one loan, the decision to sell and move up,” he said. The three-month average for sales was in the north- west area was $144,000, up about five per cent from 1995. 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