EDITORIAL: A true gift: Living within your means

Anyone who’s ever been shackled by debt, the kind that not only ties your hands but squeezes your throat, can play the modified part of Jacob Marley to Ebenezer Scrooge.

Every time you use a credit card to buy something you can’t pay off within 30 days, you’re lengthening a chain that will weigh you down. Like Marley, spread the word to those you love and, if you can, help them avoid this seasonal trap.

We know this is the hap, happiest season of all, but short-lived gratification will suffer a painful death the day your next credit card bill arrives. And the ghost of these unwise purchases may live on for months or years.

While many Americans actually beefed up their savings accounts during the pandemic, plying the plastic has lately been getting out of hand. According to statistics from LendingTree.com, Americans racked up $38 billion in additional credit card debt from the first to third quarters this year. The total through Q3 was a staggering $925 billion.

The average credit card debt in Idaho is just a few bucks shy of $6,000. The average interest charged to all credit cards in the third quarter was 16.27%, and for new credit card offers it was a whopping 22.4%, according to Lending Tree.

To be clear, we feel great empathy for all the Idahoans struggling to keep their noses above the rising tide of inflation. In some cases, we know, relying on credit cards temporarily might be a last option.

But for those of you who feel the pressure of the holiday season squeezing your brain — and your wallet — we hope you’re able to lower friends’ and family’s gift expectations rather than add debt you can’t quickly pay off.

Maybe your kids won’t understand that Santa’s workshop has also experienced labor shortages and supply chain issues, but this year in particular, maybe a little less under the tree can be more than compensated for by the priceless gifts of parental attention and holiday-themed activities.

Wise people know that the best memories are made of experiences, not things. You live in a holiday paradise — one that’s most enjoyable when you pay as you go rather than plunge into the polar darkness of debt.

You're almost to the Christmas shopping finish line. Don't fall down now.