As much as retailers and credit card companies love to keep their swipe machines busy during festive periods, cash is the route many shoppers in the UAE are taking this Christmas.
Consumers interviewed by Gulf News said they will make sure their credit cards are tucked away safely when they shop around for gifts, decorations and other holiday essentials this month.
"I will definitely use cash because plastic money will only lead us to overspend. It does give you happiness, but it's short-lived. With cash, I will spend only what we can afford," said Collete Cole, a business development employee in Dubai.
The Filipina expatriate said she and her husband are trying to be extra careful this holiday season because they've had quite a lot of unexpected expenditures lately.
"My husband has just spent a lot of money on medical checkups this month and there are other household bills to pay," she added.
Sue Ellen Almeida, who has her husband's credit card, said she will make a conscious effort to shop with cash only so she won't blow her holiday budget.
"I'll stick to cash because if you use credit cards, you don't feel the pinch and realise how much you've spent. I will use credit only when it's very necessary," she said.
Figures released by Visa showed that more UAE shoppers are ditching their cards, with credit transactions rising a paltry 0.6 per cent in the first quarter of this year. Debit card purchases, however, increased by 19.4 per cent.
Sandi Saksena, a financial planner and member of Million Dollar Round Table, advised consumers to shop with cash only to limit the chance of going over budget.
"But if you really need to swipe, use only one card so that it's easy to keep track of how much you spent and you don't spread your purchases over multiple cards," she said.
