AVON, Ind.— Jonathan DeArmond has always wanted to give his daughter a magical Christmas.
“I have historically splurged at the holidays,” said DeArmond. “You want them to enjoy their childhood, so yeah you spend. You get great deals with Black Friday, which is essentially a month of holiday shopping.”
The Avon father works full-time in downtown Indianapolis and also has a side gig driving for Uber.
DeArmond is still paying off credit card debt from previous Christmases, and he’s not alone.
A new Nerd Wallet survey reveals 31% of holiday shoppers are still paying for last Christmas.
DeArmond says at one point his credit card debt reached $30,000.
“I had 10 to 12 credit cards,” said DeArmond. “What got me into trouble was those no-interest introductory rates. The brakes go out on your car, well, I can’t make the payment I wanted to, so I’ll just cover the minimum, and then those eventually add up."
DeArmond said once he got hit with an interest rate as high as 30%, “it just snowballed so quickly.”
A new Federal Reserve Bank of New York report shows that U.S. credit card debt reached a record high of $1.23 trillion in the third quarter of 2025, an increase of $24 billion from the previous quarter.
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Kate Bulger, VP of business development at Money Management International, says the statistics do not mean people are being careless with their money.
“We have found time and time again people are doing everything in their power to save and keep their expenses down to try and make ends meet,” said Bulger. “It really comes down to the cost of living; the cost of life has gone up."
Nearly three-quarters of 2025 holiday shoppers expect tariffs to impact their gift shopping, according to the Nerd Wallet survey.
The same report found nearly three-quarters of 2025 holiday shoppers plan to use credit cards for at least part of their gift shopping this year.
MMI, a national nonprofit credit counseling agency, says “buy now, pay later” offers are problematic for many consumers.
“Those can really get away from us,” said Bulger. “They’re very tempting this time of year.”
Bulger said the best way to stay out of debt this holiday season is to make a budget for everything, including gifts, food, decorations and events/experiences.
“Make sure it's something you can afford," said Bulger.
You can also look for alternative ways to celebrate that don’t cost money and increase your income by selling stuff and taking on a side gig.
Jonathan DeArmond picks up more Uber shifts this time of year.
"I'll try to hustle up a bit more money around the holidays to help offset that," said DeArmond.
DeArmond is down to just two credit cards.
He reached out to MMI to help pay off his credit card debt within the next few years.
In the meantime, he’s being more selective about his holiday shopping.
"There’s a lot of instances where I’m like 2023 me would have bought that immediately and I’m just not going to have it, I guess,” said DeArmond.
Tips from the Federal Trade Commission on avoiding debt relief scams:
- Never pay anyone who tries to collect fees from you before they do anything to help you deal with your debt. That’s illegal.
- Don’t share your financial or personal information with someone who calls unexpectedly, offering to help you settle your debts. That’s probably a scammer.
- Don’t do business with anyone who guarantees you results from a “new government program” for a fee
