![\"Holiday](\"https:\/\/image.cnbcfm.com\/api\/v1\/image\/108244795-17664226711766422668-43115370955-1080pnbcnews.jpg?v=1766422670&w=750&h=422&vtcrop=y\")
<\/p>\nEvery year, millions of Americans, like Hillary Lanier, a 32-year-old production planner from Charlotte, North Carolina, put their holiday shopping on credit, racking up debt that takes months to pay off. This season, Lanier’s total balance across four credit cards is in the five-figure range, a significant increase from previous years. “It’s definitely higher prices,” she said, highlighting the impact of inflation on her holiday shopping budget.<\/p>\n
Lanier, who buys gifts for her parents, grandparents, siblings, friends, and coworkers, said it could take her nine to 10 months to pay down the balance \u2014 just in time for next year’s holiday season. “I’ve tried to be conscientious and sticking to my budget, but it’s a very vicious cycle,” she admitted. Her situation is not unique, as 37% of Americans racked up holiday debt this year, at an average of $1,223 \u2014 up from $1,181 last year, according to a new report by LendingTree.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The strain on household budgets is becoming increasingly evident, especially during the holidays. “Tariffs and high prices keep straining household budgets, and that strain becomes especially clear during the holidays,” said Matt Schulz, LendingTree’s chief consumer finance analyst. Even sticking to the same shopping list as last year can cost more now, making it challenging for consumers to scale back holiday traditions without incurring debt.<\/p>\n
Like Lanier, 63% of borrowers expect it’ll take three months or longer to pay off their holiday debt, LendingTree found. Roughly 41% of those who took on debt this season are still paying off last year’s bills. The lingering debt can become significant due to high interest rates on credit cards, which currently average more than 20%, according to Bankrate.<\/p>\n
Despite the growing debt and financial strain, consumers continue to spend, with the National Retail Federation forecasting that holiday spending will surpass $1 trillion for the first time, increasing 3.7% to 4.2% over 2024. However, consumer confidence is dwindling, with the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index for December slumping to 89.1, a drop of 3.8 points from the prior month and its lowest reading since April.<\/p>\n
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Americans’ credit card tab continues to creep higher, with the average credit card balance per consumer now standing at $6,523, up 2.2% year over year, according to TransUnion’s latest credit industry insights report. Average credit balances also grew in November compared to the previous year, a separate report by VantageScore found, indicating that more consumers are tapping additional liquidity than during last year’s holiday season.<\/p>\n
To avoid accumulating holiday debt, consider setting a realistic budget and sticking to it. Prioritize needs over wants, and explore alternative gift-giving options, such as homemade or experiential gifts, to reduce financial strain. For more information on managing holiday debt, visit Here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Holiday Shopping Debt: A Growing Concern for Americans Every year, millions of Americans, like Hillary Lanier, a 32-year-old production planner from Charlotte, North Carolina, put their holiday shopping on credit, racking up debt that takes months to pay off. This season, Lanier’s total balance across four credit cards is in the five-figure range, a significant […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":783,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/image.cnbcfm.com\/api\/v1\/image\/108234443-1764600592348-gettyimages-2248313265-BLACK_FRIDAY_SHOPPING.jpeg?v=1766493674&w=1920&h=1080","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-782","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-personal-finance"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sosahustle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/782","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sosahustle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sosahustle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sosahustle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sosahustle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=782"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sosahustle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/782\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":784,"href":"https:\/\/sosahustle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/782\/revisions\/784"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sosahustle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/783"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sosahustle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=782"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sosahustle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=782"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sosahustle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=782"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}