Here they are:

Powerful Strategy #1 - Start your holiday shopping NOW!

And pay *cash* for what you buy. :-)

Now, I'm not real big on "shopping" (I far prefer to make a list, go to Amazon.com, order what's on it, and be done with it), however I have a friend who is.

She essentially begins her holiday shopping for the following year the day after Christmas of the current year, taking advantage of the often massive markdowns retailers offer, often 50% - 75% or more, to begin her holiday shopping early.

Then, throughout the ensuing months, she continues her holiday shopping, picking up gifts here and there, taking full advantage of sales and markdowns as she runs into them, and paying *cash* for what she buys as she goes along.

Come late October or early November, just when most folks begin thinking about starting their holiday shopping, she's done with hers and, this is the important part, doesn't owe anyone a dime for the experience.

Wise strategy! :-)

Powerful Strategy #2 - Take advantage of "Layaway".

Layaway, also known as lay-by in some countries, is a service some stores offer that allows you to purchase an item without having to pay the entire cost of it all at once.

Essentially, when you put an item on layaway or lay-by, you make a down payment on it and the store physically holds the item for you until you either pay it off in full, according to some predetermined payment schedule, at which time you physically receive the item, or a certain period of time has elapsed, in which case, if you haven't paid for the item in full, it's returned to stock and you receive a refund of any payments you made on it.

Although there's sometimes a small fee for this service, it's usually *far* less than the interest you'd pay if you'd charged the same item on a credit card and paid it off "over time".

Wanting to promote their own credit cards, and thus make more money, some stores stopped offering layaway or lay-by in recent years. However, due to the apparent current state of the world economy, many of them have begun offering it again, some heavily promoting it as an alternative to credit.

As it makes far more financial sense than buying on credit, layaway or lay-by is well worth taking advantage of when you want to purchase an item, but don't have the money to pay for it in full right now.

Powerful Strategy #3 - Start your own "Christmas Club".

A concept born of the "Great Depression" and popular for many years thereafter, "Christmas Clubs" were special savings accounts, offered by banks, into which customers deposited a set amount of money each week and then received the money back at the end of the year for Christmas shopping.

Although there may still be some, I don't personally know of any banks that offer this service anymore.

However...

It's easy enough to start your own "Christmas Club" or "Holiday Club".

Here's how:

1. Open a special "free" no minimum balance required savings account at a bank or simply stick an empty envelope in a drawer.

2. Determine how much money you want to have available for holiday shopping this year.

3. Divide that amount by the number of weeks remaining between now and when you want to start your holiday shopping.

4. Deposit that amount of money in your special "Christmas Club" or "Holiday Club" savings account or envelope each week (or twice that amount bi-weekly if that's how you're paid).

5. On the date you'd decided to start your holiday shopping, withdraw the money from your account or envelope and go shopping.

It's that simple. :-)

Well...

There you have them...

Three powerful strategies you can use to avoid holiday debt.

Use them individually or in combination with one another and you'll insure yourself a debt-free and, I might add, stress-free holiday season this year.

Copyright (c) 2009 Tony Mase