Xmas is long gone, but many are still struggling to pay down their debt. Here are some helpful tips on how to speed things up

How to pay down your Christmas credit card debt

At Christmas, there always seems to be some reason to spend: cocktails after work, new outfit for a party, all the gifts for family and friends, food and drinks for the big feast, and the trip away over New Year to recover from the excesses of Christmas. Unfortunately, a lot of Australians know all too well how easy it is to get carried away at that very merry time of year and are still paying for it over a month later.

“While we may have enjoyed ourselves last Christmas, chances are our credit card bill may not bring quite so much cheer now that it is February. It’s not very festive to admit, but Christmas is expensive. And, even if we’re sensible with money throughout the 11 other months of the year, there’s something about Christmas that makes us say, bugger it, just spend,” CreditCard.com.au spokesperson, Tess Sanders Lazarus said.

“Unless you have been diligent with your saving, it’s likely much of this spending has ended up on your credit card — often cursing your past-self for saying you will ‘deal with it in the new year’. But what happens now? You have a pile of debt to deal with, and accumulating interest day by day as you…