With the holiday shopping season here, consumers will be spending their hard-earned dollars at record levels.

According to the National Retail Federation’s annual consumer spending survey, consumers plan to spend an average of $967 during the holiday shopping season, which includes gifts, food, flowers, decorations and greeting cards. This year’s planned spending is up 3.4 percent from 2016 and is projected to top the record total spending in 2015, which was $952.58.

Consumers said they will spend $608 on gifts for others and $218 for items such as food, decorations, flowers and greeting cards this year.

While spending is up, so is credit card debt.

Results of the most recent NFCC Consumer Financial Literacy Survey revealed significantly more U.S. adults indicate their household carries credit card debt from month to month as compared to last year, with nearly two in ten adults saying they roll over $2,500 or more in credit card debt each month.

Yet, there are many ways consumers can avoid trouble. The simplest, though, is setting a budget.

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WalletHub analyst Jill Gonzalez said the best way to stay within budget “is to make a list of everyone you need to buy gifts for, what you want to get them and roughly what those items will cost.

After that, figure out what your holiday budget is and if your budget and the list of gifts don’t match, then you need to prioritize gifts and come up with alternative ideas for the most expensive ones.”

While that may take more time than one would like, it will be worth it in the long run.

Gonzalez also said to keep in mind the number 37, which is the average discount across retailers this year. She said any markdown less than that is probably not a true Black Friday deal.

And remember, you don’t have to break the bank to show appreciation. One can always make a do-it-yourself project that won’t break the bank.

This holiday season, spend your hard-earned money wisely with a budget. And make sure it is memorable for the right reasons.


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