With the end of the year fast approaching, the holiday spirit can tempt even the most miserly Scrooge to splurge on gifts for friends and loved ones. According to a new study from Bank of America, credit and debit card spending was up 1.0% in October compared to the year before, up from the 0.9% year-over-year decline seen in September, and the bank expects this momentum to continue.

However, for many people, holiday spending can add to an increasingly unmanageable burden. In its most recent report on household debt and credit, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York determined that credit card balances grew by $24 billion in the third quarter of 2024, 8.1% higher than the previous year. Furthermore, 3.5% of outstanding debt—credit card and other forms—was in delinquency.

While you’re deciding how to make the holidays special for your loved ones, consider giving a gift to your finances in the form❀ of debt relief, which can help you better manage your debt and h😼elp you pay it off faster.

How to Get Debt Relief

Debt relief comes in many forms. From working with a debt settlement company or a credit counselor to consolidating your debt with a new loan o༒r balance-transfer credit card, you have severa𒁃l options.

Debt Relief Companies

The top debt relief companies will work with your⛎ creditors to settle your debts for less than you owe. These fees range from 15% to 25% of the debt. In early 2024, Investopedia’s proprietary research and scoring project found that is the best overall company, in large part because it will charge you a fee only for the amount it settles on your behalf rather than the full balance.

Debt Consolidation Loans

If you qualify, debt consolidation loans allow you to pay off multiple forms of curre𓆉nt debt by taking out a loan that cove⛄rs all or part of the aggregate balances. These loans can also help you simplify your finances and save you money if the interest rate on your debt consolidation loan is lower than the interest rates on the loans you’re paying off. 

Investopedia named the top personal loans for debt c🎶onsolidation in November, and was chosen as the best overall because of its comཧbination of lower interest rates and fees plus its fast funding time.

Credit Card Balance Transfers

Some financial institutions offer credit cards with a promotional period during which you can transfer all or part of your debt balance to the card and pay 0% interest for that time frame. Just be sure to pay this off before the promotional period ends: 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Balance transfer credit cards had an average interest rate between 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:17.74% and 28.12% in Oꦅctober, according to🦄 Investopedia’s credit card database.

3 Tips for Budgeting for Holiday Spending

Because there are some risks invo♕lved with the three kinds of debt relief mentioned above—namely fees and potentially high i🅰nterest rates—you may decide that budgeting works better for your finances. There are several ways to do that.

Open a High-Yield Savings Account

The 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best high-yield savings accounts pay 5.00% or more right now. And with🍬 the Fed beginning to cut rates, banks have started to cut their rates, too, so t♈hese top APYs won’t be around forever.

Use a Budgeting App

澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Budgeting apps can help you manage your finances by tracking your spending and income across a variety of categories. Typically, a budgeting🍰 app syncs with your bank to automatically populate your budget with your spending and savings data. Budgeting is useful not because it shows you what you can’t spend but what you can, allowing you to use your cash in a more persoꦓnally fulfilling way.

Pay Off Your Lowest Debts First

Sometimes called the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:snowball method, paying off your lowest balances first can help free up cash to spend on your loved ones for the holiday. Because you owe interest with every payme♋nt against your debt, paying off the balance early helps you avoid future interest. Not only will the snowball method save you money, but it could also boost your confidence as you watch your𒈔 balances slowly melt away like the season’s first snow.