Mania and credit

Thanksgiving is over now. The holiday shopping season has officially begun. Black Friday sales have hit everyone’s wallets.

It is very easy for some people with mental illness to hit a mania during the holidays and go shopping crazy. Especially with those little plastic things called credit cards. Please be careful. Watch yourself during this time and take your meds.

If you are going shopping, take someone with you. Go with a set budget and stick to it. Christmas should be a time of happiness and joy, not a time of regret over the money spent that you couldn’t afford.

You also do not want to spend the next eleven months paying high interest rates paying off this Christmas shopping sprees.

There are a lot of crazies out there that are not mentally ill. They are out there to take your money and your identity. Be careful with your wallet at all times. If you give your credit card to someone, check it when you get it back that it is yours. Identity theft is big during the holidays. Don’t give out your information over the phone to anyone calling for a charity or anything that may sound legit. They don’t need your credit card number or your social security number.

If you are shopping online, be sure the site is secured. Best bet is to pay through Paypal without giving out your credit card info to anyone else.

If you want to be smart, start saving in January a little each payday for the Christmas season. Then, when the holidays come, you can pay cash for everything. Nothing is costing you interest. Plus you have money set aside through out the year to take advantage of sales for special gifts for that certain someone. I shop for Christmas all year long. Saves money, time, and sanity.

I’m participating in a blogging scholarship. If you would like to do the same, visit http://students.spendonlife.com/blogging-scholarship by Dec 1st and blog away.

In the meantime, have a great shopping season. Stay in recovery mentally. Don’t forget your meds.

take care