The holidays are around the corner and according to recent research from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, consumer debt is at an all-time high of $1.3 trillion. From the kickoff of the shopping season ahead of Black Friday to the ongoing season of spending, consumer finance expert, Discover’s Ram Subramanian, will be on hand to talk tips on how viewers/listeners can spend smart, and make their money work harder… stretching the budget to avoid holiday-related debt. For more information visit discover.com/modernmoney
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00 The holidays are around the corner and consumer debt is at an all-time high.
00:07 Discover's consumer finance expert Ram Subramanian talked with Brad to provide
00:11 tips on the best way to budget to avoid holiday related debt.
00:17 Good morning Ram, how are you? Very good, thank you. So all right this is a very
00:23 important time because we know what's gonna be starting literally I mean I say
00:27 within a couple of weeks and that is the holiday shopping so let's talk about
00:31 some things that we can help of course consumers spending habits and save money
00:36 this holiday season. Yes, yeah so I would say you know starting off it it's
00:43 important for you know consumers to have a budget for the for the holidays right
00:48 now most people think about holiday spend as an year-end activity but it
00:53 need not be that way right and so I would say set a budget early and be
00:58 flexible to shop intermittently as and when you see the right deals come up so
01:03 that goes a long way right in you know helps you kind of stay close to the
01:06 budget and we are seeing some of that from our own consumer surveys as well we
01:10 see nearly three-quarters of Americans are trying to do just that setting a
01:14 budget for holiday shopping and most of them have already mapped out what they
01:18 plan to spend the season as well. Yeah okay this is very interesting this is
01:22 something I was looking at going wait spending perks what are spending perks
01:27 that people can get while they're doing their shopping? Yeah so I would say also
01:32 very important on how you're paying for the holidays right so so for instance
01:38 paying with a debit card for holiday perks or for everyday expenses may be a
01:44 better smarter way to manage overspending and on that note I would
01:49 say as an example if you were to have a Discover's cashback debit card then that
01:55 makes it easier to manage your money by offering a few very helpful perks for
02:01 the holiday spenders like things such as earning cash back rewards on everyday
02:06 debit purchases very unique right I mean typically you don't associate rewards
02:10 with debit right so certainly customers can take advantage of that also it's a
02:15 it's a free checking account so customers don't have to worry about
02:17 getting hit with any fee of any kind as well. Yeah that's very cool that's very
02:21 important there okay all right budgeting staying on budget what are some tips to
02:25 help us stay on budget while we are of course doing the holiday shopping? Yeah I
02:31 would say stay flexible on where you're spending how you're spending a venue
02:35 you're spending right I mean travel is a big typically spend so if you're
02:40 flexible there that helps you know also I would say put money aside for a holiday
02:46 spend is critical and as you're putting that money aside it can even be better
02:51 if you can open up a holiday savings account such as a Discover online
02:55 savings account where you can earn over five times the national average on
02:59 interest rates so you know not just parking the money but also making sure
03:03 that that is growing over time and and is there for you when you need it. I like
03:08 that I like that okay any other additional tips you have for us about
03:11 of course budgeting? I would say for any more tricks and tips on holiday spending
03:18 savings you can visit discover.com/modernmoney. I like that Rami
03:24 thank you very much this is gonna help definitely as the people remember use
03:27 that debit card and get those points of money back so look you can make money of
03:31 course shopping for other people I like that so thank you very much for joining
03:35 us this morning. My pleasure thank you.
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