In fact, some borrowers are still paying off debt from last year's purchases.
To that point, 28% of shoppers who used credit cards have not paid off the presents they bought for their loved ones last year, according to a holiday spending report by NerdWallet.
However, this is a slight improvement from 2023, when 31% of credit card users had still not paid off their balances from the year before.
Although overall credit card balances were 6.9% higher at the end of the third quarter compared to a year earlier, that's a significant improvement from the 15% year-over-year jump from Q3 2022 to Q3 2023, TransUnion found.
Recent wage gains have also played a role, according to Paul Siegfried, TransUnion's senior vice president and credit card business leader.
Persons:
TransUnion, Michele Raneri, Paul Siegfried, TransUnion's
Organizations:
Finance, TransUnion