Much later, according to a new poll of holiday shoppers by Consumer Reports.

In my book Money for Life…How to thrive in Good Times and Bad a great deal of time is spent discussing the Debt Paradigm; a system of thinking about money that suggests that you can have everything you need and want as long as you have enough credit [that really means you have debt].

• According to the survey, 23% of Americans will not pay off their holiday debt until March or later, equaling $14.6 billion in interest-accruing debt.
• Over one-quarter of Americans (26%) use credit cards most often when holiday shopping, contributing to the $63.6 billion charged on credit cards throughout the shopping season.
• Among those using credit cards to pay for holiday gifts, 17% or more plan on accumulating $1,000 or more in holiday charges.

Here are two ideas from the same survey that might help you avoid this insidious trap:

• With little more than a day to go until Christmas, re-gifting becomes an attractive option. A noteworthy proportion of consumers (13%) are planning on re-gifting. Men are more likely to re-gift (17%) than women (10%).
• After the holidays, 16% of consumers plan on returning some of the gifts they received. Men (21%) are more likely than women (12%) to return some of their gifts.

Holiday shopping makes people usually spend more than they intend to.  In addition they rack up major credit card bills looking for bargains, after the season.

Don’t fall into the trap.  Or, if you already have, seek out a financial guide that can show you how to be your own banker and never get trapped again.  You can find a guide who is trained in this financial discipline at http://www.youbethebank.com/find-an-advisor.html

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