Virtually 3 in 10 customers are going into the vacation season nonetheless carrying debt from final yr’s festivities. CNBC stories:

For some folks, opening up a bank card assertion is sort of a go to from the Ghost of Christmas Previous.

Vacation customers are anticipated to spend generously this yr, with the Nationwide Retail Federation estimating the typical shopper’s outlay at $1,007 for the whole lot from items to meals to vacation apparel — a 4.1 p.c enhance from final yr. One other evaluation, from NerdWallet, anticipates an 18 p.c bounce on present spending alone, to a mean complete $776.

However that doesn’t give the true image of the fee: 28 p.c of customers are coming into this vacation season nonetheless paying off debt from final yr’s festivities, in line with NerdWallet.

Specialists say that for those who’re amongst these nonetheless lugging round debt from final yr, now is an effective time to pause and strategize, earlier than Black Friday week units off an extended stretch of frenzied spending.