To Your Credit...

I can't go any further without mentioning something about store credit cards.

Whether you choose to use credit cards or not, you might not know this about store credit cards. Many stores these days, including New York & Co., Beall's, and JC Penney, give extra discounts and specials if you get and use their card.

Some stores, like Kohl's, offer a discount the first time you use the card. Some will only give the discount if you get the card, but not if you don't qualify. Others will give you the discount just for applying, which I personally think is only fair.

So what's a girl to do who wants the deals but not the debt?

Simple--pay off each charge on the spot. I can't think of any clothing store that does not accept payments to your charge account at the register. So if you have the cash, simply make a payment to your account in the amount of the charge, right there at the same time as your purchase.

This way, you never carry a balance, and you always get those extra deals.

At New York & Co., which is one of my favorite shop spots, I am on their email list, and I receive frequent coupons by email. Now, there is a catch: you only get coupons if you buy something. I don't know their formula, but it's something like, for every $25 you spend in their store, they'll send you a coupon for $20 off a total pre-tax purchase of $75--or something like that.

Now, here's a word of caution about those New York & Co. deals that offer "x-amount off of x-amount": They turn that discount into a percentage of each item. It's not a huge deal, but it is something to be aware of. As far as my "cheap shopping" goes, they're the only store that does that.

And now you know. I don't advocate carrying a lot of debt, but I do carry some myself. It's up to you, and now you can get some even better deals, to debt or not to debt!

Until next time,
Susan K. Morrow