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How long will it take you to pay for papa?s stockings?

It?s known as the holiday debt hangover, and it is severe. With shops luring you in with festive decoration, Santa Claus entertainment and emotional Christmas songs, who wants to resist the urge to buy that cute little gadget for the beloved niece or partner. And anyway, only a heart made of stone could start counting the pennies when faced with an opportunity to spoil dear mama for all the love she put into growing you up. And so the dollars keep flowing from your account to the salesman pocket, heaping up a massive pile of credit card debt to wake up to once the last Jingle Bells has been turned off.

And wake up they do. Americans amass a whopping $63.6 billion on credit card debts throughout the holiday season, with the average American planning to spend about $1000 on Christmas expenses. Well, that?s the plan anyhow. Tod Marks, from Consumer Reports, says that not paying in cash allows you to give into the illusion that you, or whomever you want to spoil deserve it, when in fact, a limited amount of cash in your pocket would make clear to you that you can?t afford it.

He also states that as the average household is already struggling with $9000 in credit card debt, anything added to that amount could make the strain be felt severely. In a Survey conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center fifth people interviewed said it would take them up until March to pay off their Christmas debts. So if you still have a chance this Christmas, before you splash out on that unique present for your doggie, just ask yourself if you still want to pay for it in March.