This time of year, it’s easy to get caught up in a cycle of spending. There are sales that convince you that you’re actually saving money if you make a large purchase. There’s pressure everywhere: to go on a once-in-a-lifetime vacation. To buy the perfect gift or the perfect outfit. To buy the must-have holiday toy. Buy, buy, buy. However, this can lead to debt.
So if you’ve overdone it this holiday season — or in general, have trouble staying out of debt — what can you do? Michael Drullis, Executive Director of the NJ Coalition for Financial Education, sat down for an interview with Steve Adubato, PhD, host of One-on-One with Steve Adubato, to outline a five-point plan to help people get out of debt.
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But while identifying good debt vs. bad debt, and coming up with a financial plan is responsible, it’s not, well, fun. And it doesn’t leave much room for fun — for those little trips and treats that make life enjoyable. Rather than deny yourself, Drullis suggests that people simply make “having fun” one of their financial goals.
“If your goal is vacation, that’s fun. If your goal is a steak dinner at a nice restaurant once a week, you should have those things, but plan for them,” Drullis says. “And at the end of the meal, at the end of the vacation, when it’s fully paid for and you’re not paying for it over the next three years at eighteen percent, that’s more fun.”
Click below to learn some tips on how to manage debt — and how to avoid “financial predators” — in this edition of One-on-One with Steve Adubato.
For more stories that impact New Jersey residents, click over to our Hot Topics in NJ series.
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