Ho, ho, hold down spending

The following credit-card-spending tips, from the Credit Union National Association, might keep seasonal debt from snowballing:

*If your monthly debt payments, not including your house payment or rent, amount to more than 20 percent of your net income, it's time to scale back.

*Calculate how much it would take to pay off all your holiday bills by the end of March, instead of just paying the minimum each month.

*In January, open a Christmas club account, offered by most credit unions and banks. You'll have money come December, plus interest.

(c) Copyright 1999. The Christian Science Publishing Society