46% of holiday shoppers are still nursing last year’s holiday debt hangover

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — The holiday shopping season is already here, with retailers promising deep discounts during fall sales. However, many shoppers are still dealing with a debt hangover from the last holiday season.

“Forty-six percent of Americans are still paying off debt from last holiday season, said WalletHub’s Chip Lupo. “That’s a staggering amount.”

In an effort to avoid debt, WalletHub’s new holiday shopping survey shows that 22% of people say they spread out purchases over several months, 21% will only use cash or debit cards, and 42% say they will stick to a strict holiday budget.

A budget will be the key to ensuring you’re not stacking debt on top of debt.

“You’re setting up a budget within a budget, so you take whatever surplus you have at the end of the month, end of the year, and create a budget within that,” Lupo said. “I think if more people actually every month looked at their statements, see how much they’re paying in interest, that might sober them up a little bit to be a little more responsible with the holiday spending.”

Don’t let retailers convince you to splurge or over-spend. You’re going to see numerous sales from now through the holidays. If something doesn’t fit your budget or you don’t need it, it’s not a good deal, no matter how discounted.

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