Watching Your Wallet: Holiday Debt Study

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The pressure to spend and meet social obligations during the holidays can be seen in LendingTree's 11th annual holiday debt report.

The survey found more than one-third of Americans (37%) went into the red.

Parents with kids under 18 were significantly more likely to take on holiday debt, with 48% borrowing an average of $1,300 or more.

LendingTree Chief Consumer Finance Analyst, Matt Schulz, says those making $100k per year were among the most likely to take on holiday debt, "It's always interesting when high-income people take on debt. Some of that is confidence rather than struggle. So if you're making a lot of money and you take on a little bit of debt and pay a little bit of interest may not be that big of a deal."

As for those borrowing, 40% of consumers who took on new debt this holiday season were still paying down debt from the previous year's holiday shopping.

"That's a really big deal because it's one thing to take on debt for a couple of months, maybe it won't cost you that much in interest, but when you're talking 6 months to a year with debt, that's a significant thing," Schulz says.

But Schulz says the most important takeaway for consumers is that they have more power over their money than they think. "There are things you can do to knock down that debt, whether it's getting a 0% balance transfer credit card or if your credit isn't great, a personal loan can help you with that as well."

You can also call your credit card issuer and ask them to lower your interest rate.

Schulz says, "We've done reports at LendingTree, anywhere from 75-80% plus of people who have asked for a lower interest rate in the past year, have gotten one, and the average reduction is 6 or 7 points."

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