Christmas Credit Cards And Other Stories

No way! We're not going to do a pun on Christmas cards. It's too obvious. But you should take a look at these credit cards and other Christmas-time money-saving tips.

Many people can spot a good Christmas present with infuriating ease*. However, I strongly suspect that Christmas is one of those times when lots of people aren't good at budgeting. The Saturday before Christmas the whole bill gets whacked on the credit card at 15.9% interest, with an instantly forgotten mental note to worry about it later.

The key to budgeting for Christmas is to start saving early. As it's nearing the end of October, this is probably as late as non-Scrooge's can leave it if they want to be generous.

Rather than just saving the money up and spending it all in one panic-fuelled frenzy on Christmas Eve, it may help to buy some presents in October and November. This way you won't be tempted to spend your Christmas savings on something else and you won't be so rushed that you have to go out and buy anything you can find, regardless of price.

I don't know much about clothes, but I'm told by a reliable bargain-hunter that there are clothes sales on, so, if you want to buy clothes as presents, now might be a good time.

For the more practical members of the family, you could arrange to buy presents for each other in the sales after Christmas. That'll be cheaper and it'll help spread out the costs.

Don't forget to search online for your presents. Again, remember to shop early enough to ensure a timely delivery.

And remember: a credit card's for life, not just for Christmas...no, not really. But if you need help spreading out your payments, these credit cards will serve you well over the next ten or twelve months.

The best 0% credit cards for purchases

For those of you who don't need to borrow to fund your Christmas spending, you should reward yourselves with some free cash with a cashback credit card. The best deal around at the moment is Morgan Stanley Platinum Credit Card, which will give you 3% on all your purchases from now till 1 January 2007. Provided you pay off any purchases within 55 days, you'll pay no interest.

*I may be poor at choosing presents, but, if it's the thought that counts, my presents must be worth a fortune: I have to think for ages!

> Get budgeting for Christmas: apply for a 0% on purchases credit card now.
> Compare cashback credit cards here.