It's an expensive time of year, and if you're swiping a credit card, debt can linger long after the Christmas tree comes down.
New data shows nearly half (45%) of Wisconsinites polled are still paying off presents from last year. "It was a little bit surprising," said Brian Melter, Chief Experience Officer at Landmark Credit Union — which conducted the survey. "But when you think about the economy, inflation, and other things, it's not as surprising as we might have thought in previous years."
Also according to the survey, most shoppers (61%) say cash is the preferred way to pay for holiday expenses. "I think the biggest thing was we saw that people were using the cash that they had in hand as their own budgeting tool to help control their spending over the holidays," added Melter.
But if you plan to put down plastic, the stakes are higher this holiday season. Credit cards are one of the most expensive ways to borrow money. The average interest rate is above 20% which is near an all-time high and triple what the average mortgage or auto loan is going for.
Watch: How to make sure holiday debt doesn't linger into 2026
Americans have racked up record-high credit card debt, $1.17 trillion — an 8% increase from one year ago. Katrina Biefeld is chipping away at her part of that mountain. "It was a lot," she admitted. "And it was kind of unmanageable. Kind of super unmanageable."
Katrina says she leaned on credit cards in her 20s. "I was just using credit cards like it was free money, which I knew then, and I know now is not. But the younger me in my 20s still was not quite processing that."
Now, she's found a non-profit to help consolidate her debt and drop her interest rate to 6%. Money Management International says Biefeld is not alone. In Wisconsin, MMI has seen a 29% year-over-year increase in people seeking help with debt.
"There are options out there, and it works," added Biefeld. She's making monthly payments of $760 and is on track to be debt-free by early 2026. "On the 11th of every month I'm just paying my fixed amount and that's all I have to think about," she said with a smile.
Financial experts say there are creative ways to keep your shopping budget in control. "You can set up transaction alerts to say, every time I spend over $75 alert me, and it's just a reminder. Are you spending beyond?" said Melter, offering one example. "I'd say, take advantage of your mobile app and online providers with a lot of the tools that they have."
And he says, if you are swiping to pay for presents, when the bill is due, pay more than the minimum payment. Or take a look at zero-interest balance transfer offers.
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