Happy new debt!

So, you've survived the holidays, handed out all of your gifts, and maybe even received a few things that you actually like enough to consider keeping. Now it's time to kick up your feet and relax, right? Not so fast. If you're like 23 percent of the people surveyed by the Consumer Reports National Research Center last month, you'll be paying off your holiday-incurred debt until at least March. And if you're in line with 17 percent of our survey respondents, those bills could equal $1,000 or more. How can you deal with your holiday debt and make sure it won't still be haunting you when you should be planning your summer vacation? The first step, of course, is to pay it off as quickly as possible. If you planned to pay those charges by March, do it! Every month you delay will cost you. If you need some convincing, check out BankRate.com's credit card calculators. According to one, if you have a balance of $1,000 at an interest rate of 18 percent and you just pay the minimum each month, it'll take you 153 months (almost 13 years) to pay it off — and you'll incur $1,115.41 in interest! Convinced now? Good. Consumer Reports Money Advisor offers some good tips to help you get out of debt and stay that way. One that's sure to work: pay cash. That's what 77 percent of our survey respondents did for at least some of their shopping this holiday season. The rest of you had better get busy now — Valentine's Day is just around the corner (and we'll be tempting you with our annual chocolate ratings in a few short days).
— MP