The holiday season isn’t that far away. Perhaps you’re already doing holiday shopping for friends and loved ones. Maybe you’re tight on funds this year or have more people than usual to buy for, and you aren’t sure how you’ll pay for everything you want to buy for them. If that’s the case, you might be considering applying for a new credit card to finance your holiday shopping. But should you?

Like with most purchases in life, you need to think about the risks and rewards. Can you really afford those purchases if you put them on a new credit card? How about when you factor in interest payments over time? More importantly, are holiday gifts something you really want to go into debt over? It’s probably not a good idea.

Why You Shouldn’t Apply for Credit Cards for Holiday Shopping

When each new year rolls around, consumers like you look for ways to improve their lives. That includes getting out of debt. If you’ll soon be stressing over finances and trying to repair them, why would you even consider building new debt on a new credit card for purchases you’ll never see again? Sure, it might make other people happy temporarily, but would they really be that happy if they knew those gifts were throwing you into debt? Not so likely.

The worst part about applying for new credit cards before the holidays is that you’ll be surrounded by temptation — not only the temptation to buy what you want to buy, but the temptation to simply buy too much! Retailers rely on people like you being willing to whip out the credit cards during the holidays for their busy sales season. You’ll be seduced by displays and deals that you can’t, and don’t want to, resist. You could screw up your personal finances in the course of a few weeks of holiday shopping even if you’ve otherwise been perfectly disciplined all year. You’re better off not doing it.

If You Still Plan to Apply for Credit Cards Before the Holidays…

If you’ve heard the warnings, but still insist on getting a new credit card (or several) for this year’s holiday shopping, at least keep the following tips in mind:

1. Look for a card with an introductory low rate offer so you don’t get slammed with interest.

2. Create a gift list so you know exactly what to buy for people and can avoid other temptations.

3. Choose a rewards card that offers cash back on your holiday shopping purchases, like the NAB Visa Mini card.

4. Consider a no annual fee credit card like the HSBC credit card so you won’t be hit with a large fee on your balance before you even begin your holiday shopping.

Holiday shopping isn’t an investment. It’s not something you should put yourself into debt over. If you have a habit of doing that, consider taking your finances back this year. Be more frugal. Spread out your holiday shopping over the fall months leading up to the holidays. And when this holiday season is over, start a small savings account (or even just set cash aside each month) so next year you’ll have holiday shopping money ready to go, debt-free!