Despite rising household debt, holiday spending set to break records in US

The arrival of Black Friday and Cyber Monday means the is in full swing.

But even with the state of the economy, Americans are expected to break records when it comes to spending. According to the National Retail Federation, total holiday spending in the U.S. is anticipated to hit a staggering $960 billion this year, up 4% from last year.

Consumers spent $5.6 billion on Thanksgiving Day, according to data from Adobe Analytics, which tracks online spending.

However, when it comes to your pocketbook, you might be feeling the pinch.

“They may not have the spending capacity to do it. And because of that, people are looking for ways to save money during the holiday season," said Bill Dendy, an attorney, CPA and financial advisor.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reports that household debt in the U.S. has skyrocketed to $17 trillion, with $1 trillion coming from credit cards alone.

That means the average American family owes about $103,000 when factoring in mortgages, auto loans, credit cards and other spending.

And on top of that, interest rates being higher, so the cost of carrying debt is even more expensive than what it was a couple of years ago,” said Dendy. “And with this crunch of inflation plus the cost of carrying debt, many people didn't see their raises or their own salaries go up to the same amount.”

So why are people still spending this holiday season?

“Many people think their own jobs are safe right now and so they're comfortable going a little bit further into debt," said Dendy.

His advice to save some money is to take time to compare prices between stores and set a deadline and budget when shopping.