High Interest Rates Mean a Homemade Christmas

This year, with interest rates for holiday loans as high as 7.9% at my bank -- United One Credit Union -- and with credit card interest anywhere up to 21.9%, we have decided to cut back the expense on our Christmas shopping and to have more of a homemade Christmas. Why pay 7.9% more on a loan for Christmas presents, when we can just forget the loan and have a homemade Christmas?

I can sew, quilt, etc. so everyone will get something homemade. Making cookies, bars, kolaches, freezer jam, candy, etc. are always welcome and tend to be less expensive in the long run. You get more for your money, and your recipes stretch further. Instead of purchasing dinner rolls, I will make my own this year. It is not that costly, plus I not only can make dinner rolls, I can make kolaches, coffee cake and more. All the goodies one needs to serve the relatives or friends for the holidays. Purchasing a summer sausage, and lunch meats at the Meat Market and having them slice them, makes it cheaper for me to make my own cheese and sausage trays. The lunch meats are arranged on large platters and served along with larger homemade dinner rolls.

A few gifts will be purchased at Wal Mart have 0% interest on anything purchased from the end of November until Christmas on a $250 purchase or more, to be paid in one year's time. So this will help in the areas where homemade items or goodies will not work, such as with a new grand daughter who will need formula and diapers. Gift certificates will take care of those needs, and sewing will take care of any clothing needed.

We decided since I cannot work due to another surgery that we would scale back this year at Christmas. With all the foreclosures on homes, and the cost of paying our own health insurance plus the price of gas for the car, we need to keep as much on hand to make those payments. With our future economy not looking really good, it does not hurt to cut back on spending.