It's that time of year when your lender is feeling the holiday spirit -- get ready for offers to skip payments on your loans. With most of these offers, you're allowed to skip the December payment with no penalty.
While it may seem like a nice idea, the practice actually ends up costing you money. First, you aren't paying off your loans as quickly as you could, and that means interest will continue to add up. Some of these "privileges" also come at a cost: say, a $35 fee for the ability to skip your payment.
When you look at the big picture, as FiveCentNickel.com has done, you'll see that skipping holiday payments is really expensive. If you really can't afford payments at the same time as gifts, you're only making the problem worse by extending your debt (and paying a fee to do so). Instead, figure out creative and inexpensive ways to show people you care.
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