Don’t pay over the odds in the sales

As 2008 gets underway the January sales are continuing all over the country, with shops and retailers slashing the cost of purchases and consumers bagging bargains of all types and descriptions. Whatever you are looking for, whether it is a new bag, a new outfit, or even new furniture for your home, you will find bargains galore available from a variety of retailers that are all vying for your custom.

The good news for consumers is that industry officials reckon that this year’s January sales could stretch on way beyond January, with retailers desperate to recoup losses from a slow Christmas period.

There has been a marked slowdown in the economy over recent weeks, with consumers unable to splash out as much as they would have liked over the festive season due to high interest rates, high petrol costs, increasing food costs, and higher energy costs.

This impacted on sales figures for retailers across the country, and one of the ways in which they hope to increase custom and profits is apparently by keeping the sales period going as long as possible.

This is great news for bargain hunters, as it means that the bargain will continue to line the shelves. However, if you do plan to take advantage of extended sales you need to make sure that you fund your purchases wisely and do not end up paying over the odds, even if you are getting a bargain.

One thing to bear in mind is that although there may be bargains galore on the shelves you could easily end up paying more than you need to through something as simple as your method of payment, and this could counteract the savings that you make on the actual item that you have purchased.

For example, you might find the perfect outfit at a knock down price, saving you a small fortune off the regular price. However, if you use a store card or high interest credit card to pay for the purchase, and you do not repay your balance in the interest free period, you will end up paying interest to the card provider, which means that effectively you will have paid far more for the outfit than the actual shelf price.

With this in mind it is important to think carefully about how you are going to fund your purchases in the sales, particularly if the bargains are going to be available beyond the traditional January. It can really pay to get yourself prepared, and one popular option for those that want to make the most of the sales is a 0% purchase credit card.

With these credit cards you can enjoy a specified period of interest free credit, and this means that you can make your purchases in the sales, and providing you repay your balance within the interest free period you won’t have to pay any extra on top of the purchase price.

You will find a number of credit card providers that offer some very generous interest free periods on these 0% purchase credit cards, and the aim is to find the one that offers the longest interest free period.

You don’t have to worry about the standard variable interest rate charged because the plan is to repay the balance on the card within the 0% period so that the interest rate won’t apply to you. However, it is vital that you do repay the balance within the interest free period, as otherwise any remaining balance will be charged at the standard variable rate applied by the lender.

You can compare 0% purchase credit cards quickly and easily online, as the Internet will enable you to see at a glance which providers are offering the best deals on these cards.

Do bear in mind that you will need to have a good credit rating in order to qualify for a 0% purchase credit card with most providers, and also remember that the credit crunch has resulted in an increased number of credit card applications getting rejected, so don’t rule out the possibility that you might not actually be able to get the credit card you want.

Once you have got your 0% purchase credit card you can start enjoying the bargains in the sales, using your interest free card for convenience and affordability. However, you need to make sure that you pay off as much of the balance as possible every month, so that you can be certain that the balance will be cleared at the end of the interest free period.

Also, don’t get tricked into transferring any existing balances onto the card, otherwise any purchases that you make may get trapped behind the transferred balance and over time will start to accrue interest.