A Couple of Ways to Get Christmas Credit

Christmas can cause more than just a headache on the morning after the night before. Whilst it’s famously the season to be jolly, the festive period can often create a financial hangover of the sort that will wipe the smile off your face come January. For families, Christmas can especially be an expensive time; paying for the higher costs of winter heating bills, entertaining guests, and keeping the kids happy by buying them presents are just some of the ways that it can eat into your wallet. You might have put on a few stone during winter holidays, but your wallet probably will shed some weight.

If you haven’t saved carefully, then you might not be sure how to raise the cash required to have a Christmas to remember. This article will explain a few of the easiest low risk ways to raise some extra cash this Christmas.

Get a loan

If you’ve never got a loan before, or you already have substantial debts, then you may well not find the idea of getting a loan very attractive. However, loans offer a good way to get cash at a low interest rate and you’ll be able to pay them off over the long term. Personal loans are an attractive option for Christmas time, but you really need to shop around for the best rates. Companies typically offer personal loans from £5,000 - £15,000. Alliance and Leicester are currently offering an excellent rate on personal loans from 7.4%, and you can apply for one online and even get a decision within the hour.

One plus of getting a low cost loan is that you may well be able to consolidate other debts by using the cash to pay off things like credit cards, or other more expensive loans. Because you can apply for a large sum, you could pay off your debts and still have cash left over for Christmas. If you want a larger loan of over £25,000, and you’re a homeowner, then you could apply for a secured loan. ASDA are currently offering an excellent rate on homeowner loans of 7.6%.

Get a credit card

Getting a credit card means you will be able to make purchases quickly if you don’t currently have any cash to hand in savings or a current account. However, if you think the Christmas period is going to be particularly costly for your bank account then they don’t come as a recommended solution. Many credit cards carry an interest rate of some 15%, so it’s an expensive way to get credit. However, there are a number of companies that offer some great perks. For instance, with some cards you can get 0% on purchases for the first three months, meaning you can effectively have free access to credit if you will be able to pay it off come February or March. If you’re searching for 0% credit cards, then ASDA Finance are also offering some other useful Christmas perks on theirs; from 26th December – 22nd January they are offering a balance transfer fee refund – a balance transfer of £3000 will get you 15,000 points at ASDA stores, giving you £75 in money off vouchers, which will be great for the Christmas dinner. They are also offering 2p off petrol every litre on fuel when you use the credit card, which is handy after the recent rises in fuel prices.