It’s the holiday season and it’s very easy for consumers to swipe a card than pull out cold hard cash when it comes time to check out at the register. Before you swipe though, think about whether or not you’ll be able to pay for this purchase by the time the balance is due. If you won’t be able to, don’t swipe it. Credit card interest rates, on average, are in the double digits. Use this calculator (Java required) from Dinkytown.net to figure out how much more in interest you’ll be paying if you charge those purchases and take your time in paying it off.

Now, if you know you can pay off the amount in six months (if not six, hopefully twelve), you can apply for a credit card currently offering a 0% balance transfer with no fee. By taking advantage of one of these credit card offers, you won’t have to pay any interest for twelve months – which hopefully will give you ample time to build up the funds to pay off your holiday spending spree.