Today can effectively be for some of us a re-creation of the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, in terms of our Credit Cards.
This one is an interesting twisted tail to follow, so I’ll try not to wander down too many dark alleys. Still, it is this simple, right about now (February 14th) the Credit Card bills are arriving for the stuff you bought after Christmas (or stuff that didn’t make it into your Christmas bill, which would have shown up in January).
How bad could that be? Who spends lots of money after Christmas? You do!!
Remember that big-screen TV that you got for 40% off at the Boxing Day Sale? How about all that stuff that was on sale for Boxing Week/Month/Quarter? There is a tremendous amount of money spent after Christmas, and you might have planned for your Christmas spending splurge, but did you plan for your January spending binge? My guess is no (and if you didn’t have a post-Christmas spending binge, good on you (but are you sure?)).
In my house, my daughter’s tuition appears on my Credit Card (we still have money to pay it off, so that is good), but it is a HUGE number to show up for St. Valentine’s Day, isn’t it?
Oh, and all those “live now, pay later” deals you got from the Furniture Mega-Store or the Electronics Mega-Store all have to start getting paid off now, too. Future Shop’s new “don’t pay for 3 months” has a new catch: yes, you don’t have to pay it all in 3 months, but now you have to pay at least 1/3 of the total each month leading up to the final payment.
Are you feeling the effects of a Saint Valentine’s Day financial Massacre?
Nope. *crosses his fingers for when he has grown children*
I’m normally really starting to feel the financial pinch at this time of year. My girlfriend’s birthday is right in between Christmas and Valentine’s Day which adds to the mess. Luckily for my finances, we recently broke up. It makes V-Day a little lonelier, but sure eases the financial burden.