Adam Brauer suggests you make your holiday gift shopping list now, and make sure to check it twice. Why? So you can stay out of debt.
Brauer, 39, a debt negotiator and coowner of Debt Settlement USA of Scottsdale, has 10 suggestions for shoppers as they prepare for holiday buying binges.
He also has a list of five tips in the event Santa gives you cash — instead of a gift like slippers that don’t fit or a fancy fruit bowl that is too big for your kitchen or your living room.
“One of the most important things for holiday shoppers is to avoid buying credit cards that initially charge 10 percent but in the long run will cost as much as 29 percent in interest,” Brauer said.
“The best way to buy is with cash.”
Brauer, who with his co-owner father, Ted Brauer, 67, recently opened a new Debt Settlement USA office at 16430 N. Scottsdale Road, agrees that some buyers just don’t have the hard cash.
But there are alternatives to stay debt-free.
“Wait for a sale,” Brauer suggested.
