You should know from the start, however, that I am not a fan
of credit cards and/or loans. In fact, I
am currently in the process of using Dave
Ramsey's "Baby Steps" to eliminate all debt in my life. His techniques have been proven by millions
of people who've successfully gotten out of debt, all around the
globe.
That said, his program obviously isn't 100% for everyone or
all of his listeners/readers would either be out of debt, or currently working
their way there.
Therefore, I asked myself what part of his program might be
a turn off to some people and why everyone that listens doesn't immediately become
a convert. This question will be covered
more thoroughly in a later post, but for now let's just assume the main issue
for some people is his strict guidelines for -- absolutely -- under -- no circumstance
-- should you ever use credit.
Today, this assumption may actually work in your favor. I'm going to show you how to charge your
Christmas with little to no money at all down.
This obviously isn't the answer for all of your long term financial
needs, but may come in handy during these holiday months when our budgets are
so tight.
Sure, you'll still have to pay for your Christmas, and it
may even cost you a little more in the long run (unless you're able to pay off
the balance in its entirety when your first bill comes) but it will allow you
some "wiggle room" -- so to speak -- and give you an extra month or
so to come up with the funds.
Even then, some of these options offer such low monthly
payments that as long as you have a steady income, and live relatively within
your means, they should barely affect your monthly budget.
Budgeting Tools -- why you should use them
For number one on the list, I'm going to start with some
monthly budget tools and techniques.
Obviously, the best way to pay for your Christmas is with cash. I've already stated that I'm not a credit
card advocate, so first and foremost let's discuss ways to help you pay for
your Christmas using cash.
The most important step in this process is creating a budget
and sticking with it. There are many
tools that provide easy options for generating a monthly budget. I'll discuss only two of them below. My two favorite, might I add, but both are
free and listed in no particular order (as I like both tools equally).
Tool #1 -- Mint
I primarily use this budget tool on my Android phone;
however, it is handy to have a PC in the early stages to speed things up during
setup. This tool offers a variety of
money-saving tips & tricks, stock advice, and even ways to earn a little
more cash on the side.
Mint actually brings
so much to the table that I will have to cover it in more detail in a later
post. When I tried to add it to this
post, it put me over 6,000 words -- so stay tuned!
Setup in Mint is pretty simple, and it integrates completely
with any bank accounts that you already have.
That way, when you use your card to make a purchase, the Mint app
automatically detects and categorizes that purchase under the correct category
in your budget. That's providing, of
course, that you took the time initially to set up some of your main merchants
and placed them in the desired category.
If used properly, Mint can save you money on car insurance,
earn you great cash back rewards that include a 529 college saving fund for
your children, and even show you ways to make extra money on the side without
doing anything work related or time consuming on your part.
This truly is a great tool and I strongly
recommend using it. (There will be more
on this tool in a later post.)
Additionally, it's available on multiple platforms. So what are you waiting for? Go download Mint today!
Tool # 2 -- Every Dollar
I personally only recommend Every Dollar if you're like me
and trying to get out of debt using Dave Ramsey's "Baby Step Program"
or his "Total Money Make Over."
Also, I feel I should mention that you MUST have a PC to set
up the initial budget, and after that it is only available on iPhones, iPads,
and of course PC.
Dave has promised that an Android version is in the works
though, so for you Android fans, just be patient and use it on your PC for now.
Every Dollar can be a very powerful budgeting tool when used
correctly, and in conjunction with Dave's other services. Because Dave's primary budget lessons include
keeping envelopes with cash, with the envelopes having different labels for
different areas of spending and saving, this method really shows in his online
budgeting tool, Every Dollar.
The main thing to note here is that transactions do not
automatically sync from your account to your Every Dollar Budgeting Tool. Therefore, you have to enter each transaction
manually, just as you have to do with Mint when the app would place transactions
in the wrong category.
The difference, however, is that you will be doing this with
EVERY transaction using Every Dollar as your budgeting tool.
The good news is that
you will definitely be spending more time in this app to set up and keep up
with your budget. Why is that good
news?
Because the more time you spend on your budget and looking
at your finances; as well as where your money is actually going -- the better you'll do at staying on top
of things and keeping on track.
You are more likely to reach your budgeting and saving goals
the more you are in the app and the more aware you are as to where you're
spending your money.
The bad news is that
you're going to be spending more time in this app to set up and keep up
with your budget.
Sound contradictive? I suppose you're right, it is, but there is a
fine line for spending the right amount of time on your budget.
It varies from individual to individual. You want to spend enough time on it that you
are constantly aware of how much money you have spent, how much money you have
left in your budget, and where your greatest money sucking weaknesses come into play.
You do not, however, want to spend so much time that it becomes
more of a chore to you and you end up losing interest because it was just so
much work!
Use this budgeting tool with caution. Also, you can pay to have your bank account
directly integrated to sync with your Every Dollar Budgeting tool.
As Dave says, "They charge us to download your bank's
transactions, so we have to charge you something in return." I believe the fee to have this done is
something like $100.00 a year but don't quote me on that because I never used
this feature.
I already have Mint, which does the same thing for free.
The 7 main benefits for using Every Dollar include:
1. The tool was created by Dave and his team.
2. The budgeting tool integrates directly with Dave's advice on getting out of debt using his "Baby Steps" technique.
3. The primary focus is striving to get you to the point where you're "DEBT FREE!"
4. This tool will definitely keep you on the straight and narrow if you're following Dave's Baby Steps.
5. The tips, tricks, and money saving techniques come directly from Dave or his team and you can be confident and have peace of mind knowing that Dave only recommends products/services he's used and/or truly believes in.
6. If the budgeting tool Dave and his team created recommends a certain product or service, then you'd better put your listening cap and focus glasses on, because you're about to get schooled and his words are golden.
7. Lastly, did I mention this tool was created by Dave Ramsey? Well it's worth mentioning again because the man is a millionaire who has proven time and time again how to be successful with money!
Dave Ramsey knows his stuff when it comes to money and
getting out of debt. He is so passionate
about only recommending products and services that he either uses himself, or
truly believes in; I personally can honestly say that I'd blindly follow any
product or service he recommends when it comes to finances and/or getting and
staying debt free.
That's what you get with Every Dollar. Not only is it a tool specifically designed
by Dave and his team to help you stay on track with your budget and speed up
the process to getting you out of debt, but any product or service that the Every
Dollar Budget tool recommends, is personally backed by Dave!
So now, you're getting advice from a known millionaire, with
a system that has been proven time and time again by millions of people across
the globe! Now that's something to get
excited about; something you can hang your hat on as a sure fire way to find
that financial peace you've been searching for.
For some of us, generating a good budget this late in the game
may not be enough to provide that great Christmas we've been wanting to give
our families.
It can be argued that the only gift that is really important
is the gift of love. I tend to agree
with that argument, for the most part anyways, however, that doesn't mean it
isn't nice to shower those loved ones with the gifts they deserve.
Therefore, I will discuss some guaranteed ways to provide
some nice Christmas gifts for the family that you love so much, with very little
and possibly even NO money down, regardless of your credit! Seriously!
Okay, so the reason you are actually reading this article
probably isn't to get a lesson on budgeting and saving money. What you really want to know is how and where
you can Christmas shop with little to no money, right?
Well, below is a list of several ways you can
shop for Christmas, without spending an arm and a leg on a down payment.
At most, it will probably only cost you about
$30.00 down to purchase about $200.00 worth of merchandise. And here's how.
Top Pay-As-You-Go Sites for People with all Credit Types
My number one pick for charging your Christmas -- only when
absolutely necessary -- is the website fingerhut.com.
With over 5,000 products, ranging
from toys, to clothing, to furniture, to firearms, to gaming consoles, to
tools, to electronics, to household items -- they truly can be your
"One-Stop-Shop" for Christmas presents.
And what's really amazing is that they offer
some type of credit to everyone and everyone regardless of your credit score or
credit history. You should at least have
a job or a steady means of income for paying them back, though, before
applying.
If you have great credit, you'll get approved for a high
credit line you can use to provide your family with the Christmas they deserve.
If you have fair credit, or even slightly below fair (almost
considered bad credit) you'll probably get offered a smaller credit line of
around $300-$400. This is still plenty
of credit for providing a family of up to 6 people with a nice Christmas that
they deserve.
If your credit is poor or nonexistent, they still have a
finance plan available for you too!
For people with no credit or poor credit, Fingerhut offers
what they call a "Fresh Start One Time Installment Loan." This loan should not be confused with a
revolving line of credit like those discussed earlier. This loan is probably going to be between the
amounts of $150.00-$200.00.
This option
is still a sufficient amount of credit to provide a family of up to 4 people
with a decent Christmas. I should also
note that regardless of what kind of credit you're working with, you do need to
have a steady income of AT LEAST $10,000
per year.
I have personally known one person who lied on his
application and stated that he made $10,000-$20,000 a year, and although he
somehow was approved, I do NOT condone this type of deceit and behavior.
So if you're planning on doing so, do so at
your own risk. Also, know that I am in
NO WAY recommending you take on a monthly payment, without a steady income to
pay it back.
In fact, I really prefer that you find a way to pay cash for
your Christmas anyways. I'm just
offering a second option for those who absolutely can't afford the extra cash
this very moment to pay for Christmas.
Anyways … back to Fingerhut.
The Fresh Start one time installment loan works differently
than the other types of revolving credit lines they offer. A revolving credit line is more like a Visa
or Master Card credit card. Let's look
at the difference in the types of financing Fingerhut offers its customers in
the section below.
Fingerhut Advantage Revolving Credit Line
That's where they offer you a credit line of say $500.00
that you can use to make as little as no order at all, or up to as many orders
as you like, until you reach your credit line of $500.00.
If you use the whole $500.00 in the first month, you won't
be able to make any additional purchases that month, however, after you make
your first payment of let's say $35.00, that $35.00 becomes available to use
again for more purchases, minus any interest or finances charges that came out
of that $35.00 payment.
Fingerhut Fresh Start -- One-Time Installment Loan
With the installment loan option, Fingerhut extends to you a
onetime loan offer, which you can use to place an order with on their
website. This is NOT a revolving credit line like a credit card, but the payments
are quite similar.
Let's say they offered you $200.00 and you spent the entire
amount on your three kids and your wife.
We'll say, just to make the math easy, that you charged $50.00 for your
wife, and $50.00 for each of the three kids.
Now you've completely tapped out the $200.00 loan that they offered
you.
Jumping ahead, it's now the week after New Year's, and you
just received your first bill from Fingerhut.
The monthly payment is $20.00.
So, you get online and log into your Fingerhut account to make your
first payment. You decide to pay $25.00
to stay ahead of the game.
Another week passes and you remember that there was this
really cool paint tool for only $19.99 on the Fingerhut website, and you decide
that it's finally time you bought yourself something.
When you log back into your account online, you notice that
you have $0.00 available credit! How can
this be?
You not only paid your bill on time, but you even paid them
extra!
Well, unfortunately, you can't charge any more purchases
until the entire $200.00 that you originally charged has been paid off in full.
The bad news is
that you have to pay them back, and the original $200.00 that you charged, is
now going to cost you $240.00 in the long run.
The good news is
that the payments are broken down so far (into 12 months payments) that it's
only costing you $20.00 per month. By
doing this, you were able to give your family the Christmas they deserved
without breaking the bank and forcing you to exceed your monthly budget by
much, if at all.
Additionally, provided
you were able to keep up with your payments, you are generating positive
results for your credit score and it will likely increase by the time you've
made 6 on-time payments!
More bad news: If
you only make the minimum payment, you're going to finally pay off that $200.00
right about the time for Christmas next year!
Hopefully you've been able to save up some money and you're
doing better financially this year, so you don't have to rely on credit to
provide your family with a great Christmas.
More good news: Once
you have finally paid off that original $200.00 loan, you're automatically
graduated to a Fingerhut Advantage Revolving Credit-Line Account. This is the account where you may be offered something
like $400.00, and works like a credit card.
This way you can continue to use the account throughout the
year -- without paying back the amount in full prior to making additional
orders.
More bad news: Unlike
the Fingerhut Advantage Revolving Credit Line, The Fingerhut Fresh Start
installment loan requires a down payment on your first order. The down payment is usually between $20.00 --
$50.00, and most often turns out to be about $30.00.
More good news: After
you've graduated from the Fresh Start plan to the Revolving Credit Line, it
takes just 2 or 3 on-time payments before they offer you a credit line increase. This way, you can buy more necessities on low
monthly payments if you have to.
The
credit line increase is offered to Fingerhut Advantage Revolving Credit Line
customers who never went through the Fresh Start Program as well -- after just 3
on-time monthly payments your credit line can increase by $200.00! How exciting is that?!
Fingerhut also has many affiliates that they work with. You can use your Fingerhut credit account with
many of these affiliates as well.
Lastly, I would like to note that Fingerhut has been around
for a long time, like over half a century, and they offer very high quality
products. I would also like to note that
the numbers mentioned above, in terms of payments and interest, were basic
examples only and results will vary by customer.
I only used these particular numbers to illustrate my point
and keep the math as simple as possible.
The numbers I used for possible credit offers, however, should be pretty
darn close to accurate, but may vary slightly by customer as well.
Now let's look at the second "Pay-As-You-Go" site.
Flexshopper
Let me start by saying I would only use this site if you're
very desperate to give your family a good Christmas, and/or there's something
that you absolutely have to have and there's no other means by which you can
get it. Why do I say this?
Like Fingerhut, Flexshopper allows you to purchase items
now, and pay for them later. There is
one huge difference, however.
The bad news: Unlike
Fingerhut's low monthly payment plan, Flexshopper's "Pay-As-You-Go"
plan requires weekly payments that are drawn directly out of your bank
account.
This is pretty intrusive in my opinion, and also the payments
seem to be much higher through this company.
That said, Flexshopper does have a guaranteed approval
process, and they do carry some items that aren't available through Fingerhut
-- especially when it comes to household products and appliances.
Additionally, this company hasn't been around for as long as
Fingerhut and they've had some pretty mixed reviews. The BBB has declared multiple people
complained that there was a problem with products shipping on time, customers
getting the wrong products, as well as some billing issues.
What Does the Better Business Bureau Say
When The Better Business Bureau contacted Flexshopper, their
response was something like:
"With the
hundreds of thousands of customers we have, there are bound to be some
customers who have bad experiences.
Mistakes do happen, but overall, we think we provide great customer
service to the vast majority of our customers.
It is our continued goal and process to get better and improve, but
while we'd like to say we have 100% customer satisfaction, we know that it's
not likely, and we're okay with knowing that 90% of our customer base is happy
with our products and services."
The BBB then checked up on them again 6 months later and
found many of the same complaints.
Hence, Flexshopper is NOT a
BBB accredited company.
Does their statement to The BBB or the fact that they're not
accredited make them a bad company? I
suppose not. In my opinion, the company
has just grown too fast and now they're a little too big for their britches, so
to speak.
Now for some good
news about Flexshopper: They offer a Flexshopper Smart Phone app that you
can use sort of like Apple Pay.
Once
you are approved for an account with them, you can then use their app to shop
at other places online. The number of
places that will offer Flexshopper as a means to checkout is expected to grow
considerably in the upcoming months.
This is due to a recent business deal they were involved in and their
goal is to basically be the next Visa or Mastercard; giving everyone equal
rights to credit and shopping online.
Other Ways to Pay for Christmas
In addition to the buy now, pay later sites listed above, another
obvious choice for paying for Christmas is with a traditional credit card. If you are considering using Flexshopper,
let's just assume that you don't have the greatest credit.
Therefore, it is safe to assume you'll need a
credit card for people with bad credit, or no credit.
You're in luck! I've
done the research for you. You're
welcome. There are 3 different credit
cards that are relatively easy to qualify for.
Option #1 -- HSBC
HSBC has been around for quite some time and almost always
have a credit card offer for anyone, regardless of their credit score or lack
thereof. Head over to their site now and
apply today.
Option #2 -- Orchard
Bank
Orchard Bank used to be the go-to place for people with no
credit and/or people trying to rebuild there credit. Since then, they have been bought out by
Capital one.
I hear that Capital One is
fairly easy to get a card with as well, though.
I personally haven't used Capital One as a starter card in a long time,
but they definitely are a big name in the industry and probably worth checking
out.
Option #3 -- Secured Credit Card
This option probably isn't for you if you're trying to fast
track your way into buying Christmas for your family. If you're just trying to build your credit,
however, this is a great way to start.
Other than paying the money up front, a secured card works exactly the
same as an unsecured credit card. This
is a great way to improve your credit. I
recommend Capital One for a secured credit card.
Conclusion with Questions & Comments
Well, there you have it.
That's all I have for you today.
I hope this helps some people in need.
Please feel free to comment below and don't forget to subscribe to my
email list. If you need one-on-one
financial coaching, please don't hesitate to shoot me an email. My inbox is always open to my audience!
Thank you, and Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to all!
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