Holiday Credit Card Spending 2011

The final numbers and statistics for holiday credit card spending in 2011 aren’t in yet but retailers tracking purchases claim it was a stronger showing than last year and online spending fueled the numbers favorably. Many consumers waited until as close to Christmas as possible, intending to cash in on the lowered pricing by retailers attempting to grab the largest share of spending by luring those last minute shoppers.With Cyber Monday becoming Cyber Week, consumers took advantage of special discounts and offers made available by purchasing online and by using mobile devices to "cash in" on some of the specials and shop smarter this year.

An American Express study released 11/7/2011 showed consumers were intending to increase spending 17% as compared to last year. The good news is that to go along with this increase in spending, more consumers(2/3 according to the study) were planning on setting a budget with almost half (48%) planning on sticking to it. As of July 2011 and according to the Federal Reserve’s report on consumer credit, the national average amount of credit card debt per household is $15,799. According to cardhub.com, the third quarter of 2011 brought on $16.8 billion in credit card debt which is a 154 percent increase as compared to 2010.

Though the economy is showing some signs of recovery, many Americans who did not budget wisely or set a budget at all for the holidays, will begin 2012 with an increased monthly amount to pay to reduce credit card debt. For consumers who were making minimum credit card payments in 2011 and are now struggling to meet monthly obligations, researching and finding debt settlement options could mean 2012 is the year that debt resolution becomes a strong possibility.

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