3 Credit Card Mistakes You Might Make in December and Regret in January

It's best to avoid these at all costs.

Whether you're someone who enjoys shopping or not, December may be a month where you do a lot more of it than usual. After all, December is when a lot of people buy gifts and other items for the holidays, and it's also when you may be more inclined to take advantage of discounts and sales.

If you'll be doing a lot of shopping this month, you'll want to be very careful when it comes to swiping your credit cards. These particular mistakes might really come back to haunt you once the holiday season is over and 2023 rolls around.

1. Racking up a balance on holiday gifts

It's nice to be generous during the holidays and buy wonderful gifts for the important people in your life. But one thing you don't want to do is rack up a credit card balance you can't pay off in an effort to spread joy during the holidays. While you may be doing a nice thing for other people, in that situation, you're not doing a very nice thing for yourself -- setting yourself up to pay loads of money in interest and potentially damaging your credit score.

2. Chasing a sign-up bonus

The holiday season can be a good time to get a new credit card that comes with a sign-up bonus. These bonuses generally have a spending threshold you'll need to meet to qualify for a lump sum of reward points or bonus cash. And since personal spending tends to increase during the holidays, it makes sense to chase a sign-up bonus when you're more likely to meet the requirements at hand.

But one thing you might do in the course of trying to snag a sign-up bonus is overspend, to the point where you can't pay your balance in full by the time it comes due. And so what you gain in the form of a sign-up bonus, you might lose in the form of having to pay interest in 2023.

3. Using a store credit card

It can be tempting to sign up for a store credit card and charge expenses on it during the holidays. That's because you'll often be eligible for a large discount on your initial purchase when you apply and get approved for a store credit card. For example, if you're making a $300 purchase, you might qualify for 15% off, thereby saving $45.

But one downside of store credit cards is that they commonly charge more interest than regular credit cards. And so if you charge up a storm in December, you might end up with a pile of debt that makes January a very stressful month for you. And if you don't knock out your store credit card balance in January, it could end up being far more expensive than you may have bargained for.

The last thing you want to do is start off the new year with loads of expensive debt to pay off. If you're careful about using your credit cards and choosing the right ones, that's a situation you can avoid.