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How Boxing Day Sales Can Impact Your Debt

Dec 12, 2018 | 7:05 AM

BOXING DAY SALE!

These words in an email can make all the difference between clicking on that link or hitting “delete”. However, for Canadians in debt, these are words you may want to ignore.

Retailers use sales like Black Friday and Boxing Day to lure customers in, even when the deals aren’t so great. The problem is, a significant number of Canadians just cannot afford to add to their debt loads, even in the name of a great deal.

Our 2018 Affordability Index survey found that more than half of Canadians are living paycheque to paycheque, and nearly one-quarter are so overwhelmed by their debt they don’t know what to do.

Now more than ever, it is important to think critically about these “once-in-a-lifetime” sales, and what effect they have on debt repayment goals.

Have you promised yourself that you will focus on paying off your debt in 2019?

One way to motivate yourself is to change your mindset about debt. In the long-term, that may mean actually envisioning what your life will be like without personal debt. In the short-term, it might mean a change in spending habits and shopping behaviours.

The draw of a good sale can be tempting. Even if you really can’t afford the item, it’s easy to rationalize. (“This TV won’t be this cheap again.” “I’ve been wanting a new jacket for months.”) Yet, chances are very good, those sale prices will come around again.

What about the lure of those easy financing offers? Before agreeing to finance a purchase with interest, add up the total cost with the added interest charges. You should also beware of those pay-no-interest-until-2021 offers. If you fail to make your payments or violate the agreement, you’ll end up paying interest from your date of purchase!

Before you take advantage of a Boxing Day sale, take a moment to reflect. Do you have room in your budget for that purchase? Is it something that you actually need? Will it add to your debt or throw off your ability to make debt payments? Changing one spending habit or adjusting how you view debt can help with reaching your debt repayment goals this year.

Do you have other tips for changing a mindset on debt? Join the conversation on Twitter using the hashtags #LeaveDebtBehind and #HolidaySpending