Contact: Carmen Ramos Chandler ,
818/677-2130
carmen.chandler@csun.edu

Center Offers Holiday Shopping Tips

"The key is to avoid going into debt," say Allen Martin, director of the center and coordinator of the consumer affairs program at the university. "Going into a lot of credit card debt is very foolish during the holiday season. You can avoid a lot of headaches, and debt, if you know what to do."

Martin and his staff of student interns at the center have some simple tips to keep in mind as you start your holiday shopping. The first suggestion is a easy one - decide how much you want to spend before you leave the house.

"It's sound so simple, but it really works," Martin says.

Second, make a shopping list. "Again, simple, but effective," Martin says.

Martin suggests making gifts, rather than buying them.

"In many ways, they can be more symbolic or meaningful," he said.

He also suggests recycling gifts.

"Don't be embarrassed," he says. "If someone gave you something that you won't use, but someone else might, then you've done a good deed."

However, if you are going to purchase something, Martin urges caution. He advises against buying extended warranties or service contracts, saying they will only add on to your bill.

And if you don't know what to get someone, then a gift certificate is a nice idea.

"For some reason, cash is not usually well received by most people," he says. "It doesn't look like a lot of thought was put into the gift, while the gift certificate gives the impression that some consideration when into it."

Martin said if you are going to do your holiday shopping with credit cards, he urges you to pay more than the minimum payments.

"If you only pay the minimum, then basically you're doubling the purchase price with the interest," he says. "As an example, $1,000 worth of holiday purchases may turn out to be $1,800 of debt if you only pay the minimum to the lender."

And while you are shopping, Martin urges you to do something nice for yourself at the same time.

"If you're going to spend $500 in presents, than take another $100 or $200 and invest for yourself," he says. "With the economy the way it is right now, our golden years are not going to be protected, and we need to be responsible for taking care of our own retirement funding. We need to start the habit as early as possible of setting aside something whenever we can. The holidays are a good time to start."

For additional holiday shopping advice, call the CSUN Consumer Resource Center's hotline at 818/677-4726. Student volunteers will be manning the line through Dec. 11.

The CSUN Consumer Resource Center is a free referral service at the university designed to help students, faculty/staff and the community deal with a variety of issues from personal finances to tenant rights.

For more information about the Center, call 818/677-4726.