Stillwater, OKLA. - Did you know if you charge $1000 worth of Christmas gifts on your credit card, make the minimum two percent payment on time each month, with an interest rate of eighteen percent, you’ll be paying the “ghost of Christmas past” for fourteen years!
It’s true and according to Cheryl Dedrickson, Stillwater’s Consumer Credit Counseling branch supervisor, it’s the sort of painful reality that gives CCC two Christmas rushes. Calls for help come in November when it’s obvious there is no cash to buy Christmas gifts and in January when the credit card bills arrive with the delayed cost of generosity.
Dedrickson says Consumer Credit Counseling can help in a variety of financial situations but everyone has to start with an understanding of the difference between “wants” and “needs.” Then it’s a matter of making choices and making a plan.
Start Christmas Early
From Dedrickson’s experience, the best plan for Christmas is to figure out what it will really cost to buy the gifts you want for the folks you want, divide by twelve and begin saving that amount each month a year in advance. Use the money in your own private Christmas Club and when it’s gone, stop spending. Obviously, with two weeks ‘til Christmas, it’s too late to do that this year.
But it’s not too late to get creative. Dedrickson says she talks to students who are barely getting by and certainly don’t have Christmas funds.
“They feel guilty, sad and bad about everything,” says Dedrickson. “”I try to remind them it’s not the size of the gift that counts. They may need to be honest with their families and admit they don’t have cash for gifts.”
But IOU’s for things like mowing the yard or cleaning out closets or even a heartfelt letter can be priceless. Dedrickson says there are a number of nearly new shops in Stillwater that carry unique vintage gifts. A handmade gift or cake or cookies can be easy on the budget and are always popular.
“But the bottom line is to stick to your budget even if it’s only five dollars for eggs and flour,” says Dedrickson. “The worst thing you can do is just head into the stores without a spending limit and whip out your credit card for “the perfect pink sweater that Suzy would love.”
Pay More than Minimums
If you’ve already used credit for Christmas this year, Dedrickson says you’ve got to make more than the minimum payment and you’ve got to make payments on time. The combination of late fees and increased interest rates can make a big bill a huge one. If your financial situation is so bad that even minimums seem impossible, Consumer Credit Counseling can still help at 743-2227.
CCC handles around 125 credit counseling cases a month in the Stillwater office. And this year, rising gas prices and an expected hike in heating costs has many fixed income clients worried. Dedrickson says CCC referred many people to agencies with heating assistance programs in September and October because all have a limited capacity to help and people not on the list early are less likely to find dollars available. She admits many clients are having trouble guessing what gas prices will be from one week to the next, but she says it’s not hard to choose between eating out four nights a week and putting gas in the car to go to work.
. Dedrickson even has a gift suggestion for parents. She says giving your children a book on managing money or just sitting down with them for a discussion about making a budget could be the greatest gift of all.
Getting Money Smarts
CCC offers education on money management, debt reduction services and counseling on the use of credit in an effort to rehabilitate financially distressed families and individuals in Payne County and hopefully help them avoid bankruptcy. But local businesses benefit as well. Last year, CCC was able to help clients pay off more than a million dollars in bills and a good deal of those funds went to local businesses, banks and doctors.
CCC is also certified to provide the financial literacy counseling required under the new bankruptcy laws. Dedrickson says CCC saw a larger than normal number of bankruptcy filings in the early fall before the new law went into effect. She says she’s heard estimates that forty percent of those formerly eligible for bankruptcy will not be able to make that declaration under the new law and is concerned about the potential effect on CCC clients and services.
Consumer Credit Counseling is one of twenty five agencies supported by the Stillwater Area United Way. The campaign to raise $740,000 to fund the work of those agencies is in its final weeks. Funds raised to date are approaching eighty percent of the goal but Executive Director Shelley Ricker says a push is needed if each agency is to get an expected allocation.
Helping You Help United Way
“There are two things donors can do right now to help United Way,” says Ricker.
“The first is to donate their $45 or $90 tax rebate check from the State of Oklahoma to United Way. The second is to make a tax-deductible donation to United Way by December 31.”
. Donors intending to include United Way among their list of itemized deductions need to be sure the envelope containing their gift is postmarked by December 31. Gifts of cash are fully deductible up to a maximum of 50% of adjusted gross income.
Yet, another way to lower taxes is to make a contribution of appreciated stock according to Ricker. First, a taxpayer avoids paying any capital gains tax on the increase in value of the stock and second, a charitable deduction for the full fair market value of the stock at the time of the gift is allowable. Contributions may also be made by credit card online at the secure website at www.stillwaterunitedway.org or at the United Way office. Donors may also defer payment to 2006, by completing a pledge card directing contributions to be deducted from payroll or checking accounts. Tax deductions for those contributions would accrue to the 2006 tax year. Families and individuals making contributions of $500 and above become part of the United Way Leaders Society.
If you have questions or would like more information, please call the United Way office at 377-2161. Contributions may be mailed to P. O. Box 308, Stillwater, 74076, or delivered to the local office in downtown Stillwater at 109 East 9th Avenue.
