Checklist: Holiday Credit

Things to do this weekend with your money

It’s time to review your spending and take steps to avoid expensive post-holiday debt.

Watch your limit. Credit card companies used to automatically reject purchases that exceeded credit limits. Now many will approve an over-limit transaction and then slap customers with a $29 fee. If you’re nearing your credit limits--or if you’ve already charged more than you can pay off within three months--switch to cash.

Beware of lender “generosity.” Don’t accept a credit card company’s offer to let you “skip” a payment. Your balance will continue to accrue interest, and it will be harder to pay it off in the long run. Likewise, beware of merchants’ offers of “no interest until May.” If you can’t pay by the deadline, you’ll wind up with high rates of interest on your purchase.

Read the fine print. Low-rate balance transfer offers now typically come with a 3% fee, which can offset some or all of the benefit of moving your debt to another card. Crunch the numbers before you switch. Bankrate.com at www.bankrate.com offers calculators to help you compare offers.