How to regain control of your finances after festive overspending

Replace high-cost credit card debt with lower-cost loan against an asset

J Choudhry (name changed), 32, an assistant director based in Mumbai, had a wonderful Diwali this year. He was able to get mouth-watering discounts on a mirrorless digital SLR camera (Rs 79,000), a Shure SM7B mic (Rs 43,000), a few more gadgets for his soon-to-be-launched YouTube channel, as well as Diwali gifts for his family. All these items were purchased on credit cards, no-cost EMIs, and using Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) facility. While the easy borrowing and spending gave him a high, that has now given way to a post-festival hangover of EMIs that exceed 40 per cent of