Holidays involve a lot of give and take

Welcome to your Local BBB in December. I have taken more calls from angry consumers in the last two weeks than in the entire rest of the year.

These folks are actually mad at the BBB. They’re mad that we won’t take up their crusade, despite the fact they have no basis for a complaint because it’s years old, or the company in question did all it should have to make the customer happy way back when.

If you doubt my claim that people get wired and angry this time of year, just look at the crime spikes that take place in December.

I wonder what we have created in the season of giving that produces so much pressure in our lives? Let me attempt to ease some of that with the following observations as we move toward the 25th of December:

Gift cards

Remember, if you purchase them in Washington, according to state law, they cannot have an expiration date and are good until you decide to use them. We suggest, however, that you use them in a timely fashion, as “holding out” on their use can be a bookkeeping nightmare for small businesses with regards to checks and balances.

Computers as gifts

What wonderful gifts for teens. They can use them for studies, researching colleges, all sorts of stuff. But parents, make it a point to know what your teen is using that computer for.

If your child has a My Space profile, have you reviewed it for content? If they show you classmate profiles that are neon signs for predators, are you letting someone know? Computers, like video games, should be monitored by parents. Pay attention to what your kid is doing with this technology.

Refunds and exchanges

Each merchant sets their own policy; they don’t have to take anything back just because you say so. Know the rules before you make your purchase. If you are buying a gift and the store offers no refunds or exchanges, you might want to think twice if you are not positive the receiver will keep it forever.

Credit and debt

Have you noticed all the warnings about the decline in housing prices? There is something here we should all be concerned about. People are using second and even third mortgages to finance their lifestyles, almost like another credit card, and that’s scary.

The equity in your home should be a safety net, not a way to take a vacation, buy a big screen TV or get that bigger boat.

True, if you have $100,000 in home equity, tapping into $25,000 of it should not alarm anyone. The worrisome group is people who were relatively new to the real estate market, took out an immediate second mortgage for disposable goods, and are now looking at extending that loan to help pay off past debts.

If the local market declines and one of these folks needs to sell, their loans will exceed the value of their home.

If you find yourself in a situation indicating you owe more than your home is worth, see a credit professional for a plan to get out of that scenario as quickly as you can.

To avoid such problems, limit your borrowing to 50 percent of your home’s equity. That will make you safe unless we see a huge drop in local real estate.

Notice I said local? While we should all make note of national trends, don’t think the Inland Northwest mirrors the U.S. economy, because it does not. Take a look at the employment classifieds on Sunday, the lines to get into poplar restaurants and the crowds at the malls to gauge the health of our region.

Nice place to be these days, huh, in the expanding, thriving Inland Northwest?