Here's wishing you a debt-free holiday season

Thursday is Thanksgiving, which brings to mind images of food, family, friends, fun and football.

Friday is the day after Thanksgiving, which brings to mind pictures of bleary-eyed people standing in line, shivering in the early morning cold, waiting for stores to open so they can get screaming deals on holiday purchases.

Yes, "Black Friday" is nearly here, and many of you will use that day to start your Christmas shopping in earnest.

To keep you on the debt-free track as you prepare to spend your hard-earned cash — or put your plastic through its paces — I made my annual call to Mike Peterson, spokesman for American Credit Foundation in Midvale.

Mike says this year will be different for Christmas shoppers for a couple of reasons. First, more consumers are holding on to their money.

"Whether that's going to stay the same as we get into 'Black Friday' and the spending season, I don't know," Mike says. "But at this point, people are trying to put more money into savings, rather than going out and spending, which is great from a personal finance standpoint. It's certainly not helping the economy, as the consumers are increasing their savings rate."

For those who are spending, the other big change is the result of new credit card laws that go into effect in February.

I'm sure many of you, like me, have received notices from credit card companies that your credit limit has been reduced, or that your interest rate has gone up. Mike says that should change your thinking as you head to the shops and malls.

"Those two things are different and have the potential to impact individuals spending money for the holidays and Christmas gifts," he says. "Certainly for the individuals that have credit (limits) being reduced to (the level of their) current balances on accounts, where are they going to buy Christmas if they don't have the availability on credit cards? They're going to have to seek different ways to buy Christmas.

"For those who can charge for Christmas, they're definitely going to pay more in the short term and much, much more in the long term if they maintain balances."

The best plan, as usual, is to avoid credit card balances altogether.

To keep your spending under control, Mike recommends that you sit down with your budget and determine how much you can afford to spend for the holidays on everything you're planning to buy, including food, decorations, Christmas cards, travel and gifts.