Verónica Álvarez spent $130 on a cream, a belt, two pairs of earrings, two necklaces and two T-shirts. Those purchases she made in December 2022 and she did not pay for them in cash; she preferred to defer them to three months with her credit card.
In theory, he had to pay them from January, but he accepted the three-month grace offered by that store, located in Guayaquil. “It is that you see that December is coming and you feel that you have to organize yourself in everything about what you are going to give away. Giving little details comes to me, but it is stressful, because you need to make a plan and the salary doesn’t help you, because sometimes you don’t get paid on time. And when the time to pay comes, there are complications, because other things are added and you must find a way to pay. For this reason, oneself puts the noose around his neck, because I have to look good with everyone”, says the young woman, who would begin to pay the first installment since March and no longer thinks of taking on more debt, although she is tempted by the offers of balances in January and February.
For her part, Daniela, a 67-year-old retiree, bought gifts for her grandchildren last December and spent $200. She didn’t pay in cash either, because she was offered a six-month grace period.
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“Of course I am aware of the debt, because my account statement already shows it and the credit card quota was also used. So, I know that since June they start charging me. The only benefit is having a bit of respite,” says Daniela, who lives in Quito.
Both Verónica and Daniela took advantage of the grace months offered by some stores and stores nationwide. They granted two, three and up to six months of grace.
From January to November 2022, 124,000 purchases were made nationwide with credit cards, with a total billing of $9,020 millionaccording to data provided by Asobanca that were collected from the Superintendency of Banks.
The economic analyst Jorge Calderón affirms that, even before making that purchase, citizens must be aware of assuming a debt that will not be paid immediately and that could even coincide with others, placing them in trouble.
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“They do not realize that all those deferreds are going to coincide at some point in time: some in February, March, and others in April; and that one must have observed when he bought a good or service with this figure of payment. Now, with the school holidays, it should have been planned that there are one or several debts to be paid, and that is when the payment replacements begin later, ”says Calderón.
It is advisable to be cautious and, from the moment the purchases were made, write down how many months they were deferred and if grace time was accepted.
The financial auditor Paola Aulestia, in addition to keeping this type of debt in mind so as not to add others, suggests making a budget that includes common expenses, such as basic services, food, transportation, among others.
“Take from the smallest household expenses to the largest, so that we can make smart purchases, thought of our needs, and not get out of control, because we must have that projection: that these months, February, March and April, we already have to start paying for those purchases made”, says Aulestia.
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And within that budget also write down income such as the fourteenth salary and utilities, to cover those debts. “As long as we don’t have children in charge, there it will be beneficial for the payment of debts; because, in the case of having children, it must be used almost entirely for the purchase of supplies and all the necessities they have. For this reason, it is important to have vision”, says Paola.
Because not analyzing this future panorama is what leads citizens to resort to the minimum credit card payments, which, according to the spokeswoman for Solulnteg, a business organization consultancy, It’s the worst mistake you can make.
“It would be good if from now on they start planning what the payments are and not just focus on the minimums. The entire fee must be paid, because many think that the minimum payment is convenient for them, and it is not. It is better (to pay) all of it, so that it does not continue to generate interest, ”he points out.
While Aulestia warns that, according to financial studies, if a person pays only the minimum, that debt can be paid in up to 17 years. “We can make purchases with a credit card taking into account the estimated useful life of the purchases. In food issues we should not differ, as it is a recurring expense. If I am going to buy an electrical appliance, it can be deferred in the short term and not for a longer time”, Aulestia exemplifies. (YO)
Source: Eluniverso
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
